Hiking Off Trail
by Zashire
Summary: After an attack, Asuma adopts Naruto and takes him with when he goes to the Fire Temple to become one of the Twelve Guardians. What adventures lie ahead of our favorite ninja? AU. NaruTema, AsuKure. REWRITE UP: The Samurai Ninja!
1. Prologue

**Summary: **After an attack, Asuma adopts Naruto and takes him with when he goes to the Fire Temple to become one of the Twelve Guardians. What adventures lie ahead of our favorite ninja? NaruTema, AsuKure, more later.

**Warnings:** So I don't get yelled at or something later, I'll give you the warnings now. This will contain manga spoilers at some point or another, so if you don't want the manga to be uh... spoiled, don't read it until you've caught up on the manga. :) This will also contain coarse language, so if you don't like characters saying shit, bastard, bitch, and several other words like that, don't read it. I don't mind writing in those words because it follows the character (take Tayuya for example, we all know how clean her language is ;D) and what they're doing at that moment in time. The only violence in here will be random fights throughout the story (can't think of what else would be violence. o.o). I can't think of anything else. If I do, I'll add it later.

**A/N: **In this fiction Asuma and Kurenai are going to start out at the age of eighteen (seventeen in Asuma's case for eight days), so when Naruto is of graduating age at the academy (like in the anime/manga he's 12 when he graduates), Asuma and Kurenai will be 28 instead of 27. I'm saying this now so I don't have people pointing out specifics in reviews later on. I have the profile book so I know all of their birthdays, ages, etc.

Don't abuse the anonymous review system, please. I've seen many authors get reviewers saying their story sucked, but had no reason for it. It seems to happen under anonymous reviews more than signed, so just don't abuse it.

I update as often as I can, which sometimes isn't more than once or twice a month. Compared to my first story, the chapters I'm updating with are about twice as long. The word count for a chapter in Wielder of the Sazeto averages to about 2000 or so. In here, I believe that it averages to 4000 or more. I only have a few chapters up so far, so I can't really tell.

I think I have about 40 stories that I'm currently reading (all over 60,000 words). You see, I love long stories but usually have a short attention span. xD They don't really go together. The funny thing is, I can remember everything that happens in them. The only stories I've been able to reread so far without getting bored are 'Neo Yondaime Hokage' by Psycho G, and 'A Mother's Love' by lord of the land of fire. So... I've talked enough. If you guys have any questions, I'll either do a reviewer response each chapter, or just respond to your review through the option. Um... on with the story!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

Hiking Off Trail

Chapter 1: Prologue

By: Zashire

"KILL THE DEMON!!" shouted one infuriated citizen of Konoha as he led a mob of 'Kyuubi child haters' down an alley. They had been chasing a boy of only two years old throughout the village and had finally cornered him. Some were slightly surprised that a two year old could outrun them for over ten minutes, but passed it off as a trait from Kyuubi. Others didn't even care because they could tell he was already getting tired, and since they had him cornered, he wouldn't be able to get very far without them catching him.

"Pwease dun urt me! I sawwie! I sawwie!!" cried the little blonde haired boy as tears continued pouring down his face. He had three whisker marks on each cheek which indicated that he was the demon container. Currently he was wearing some crappy old clothing that he found in a garbage dump out back at the orphanage where he had lived for almost two years. Two weeks before he turned two, a new member was hired to help out there, and had been nasty to the blonde day in and day out. Finally, after a week of 'accidents' such as a cart slipping and crashing into the boy, or dropping a knife that gave him a big gash on his left arm, he was kicked out because the new caretaker couldn't find a way to kill him. The other people who helped run the orphanage had a neutral opinion, or just kept their feelings on the demon container hidden, so they didn't give a crap when they saw him literally shoved out the door.

After a week of living on the streets and trying to avoid mobs, the young blonde finally found sanctuary inside a discarded box. He slept there for a while until he felt his stomach rumble. Knowing he was hungry, he chose to risk going out in daylight to scavenge some food from a dump.

In the process of doing so, someone spotted him. That someone was the new caretaker who was now calling for his head. A mob had quickly formed after he shouted that he had spotted the demon, and thus, the chase began.

Of the people in the mob, many aged Chuunin and Genin could be seen. They were the ones who were alive when the sealing took place, and wanted to get revenge on the damn fox for killing their relatives while it was still in a weak form – a defenseless two year old boy.

A few of the ninja started hurling kunai and shuriken at the blonde as he hollered in pain as each one hit. One kunai lodged itself in his right leg, while another went straight into his left arm, reopening the knife wound from two weeks ago. Several shuriken hit him in the back, each causing more pain than the last. The two year old wouldn't dare turn around for the fear getting hit in the face, but suddenly had no choice as a hand reached out and grabbed his neck. Before he new it, he had been flipped around and slammed against the wall. Out of fear, he looked up and saw a pair of cold black eyes that were glaring at him, angrily. They belonged to an aged Chuunin who had several burn marks from the Kyuubi battle two years ago.

"We don't care if you're sorry! You took away our loved ones, and for punishment, you will get DEATH!!" shouted the Chuunin. The blonde whimpered as he saw the man's hand slip down to his kunai pouch and pull out a silver pointed weapon. "This is for my dear sister, Anya, who was killed when you crushed her at the beginning of the fight. Say hello to hell, you little bastard!"

Once the Chuunin had aimed the kunai at the boy's heart, the blonde could only watch and scream as his eyes got wide at the sight of the weapon. They were really out to kill him. It wasn't the regular treatment he got from other kid's at the orphanage. Nor was it the 'accidents' set up by the new caretaker. No. These people were actually trying to take his life away. _And they're going to get away with it_, he thought sadly. No one would miss him because nobody cared for him. His death wouldn't bring sadness. It would bring happiness to these people who hated him so. Figuring there was nothing he could do; he stopped screaming and let the tears silently trail down his face as he felt death coming closer to him with each passing second.

When the kunai was only inches away from his heart, he glanced up a bit and saw what looked like a pair of trench knives intercept the other weapon and shove it aside. As the kunai made a clanking noise on the ground, a man appeared in between the blonde and the Chuunin. The mysterious figure made a slashing movement with one of his trench knives across the Chuunin's torso. Suddenly, there was a large gash on the Chuunin's chest, which made him fall, in two halves, to the ground, dead. The man who had saved the blonde glanced over at the mob and made his chakra flare for a second, just long enough for everyone to feel it.

"Anyone else who wants to try and hurt this boy has to get through me first," the man said with a bit of edge to his voice.

Everyone in the mob stared in horror at the two pieces of the used-to-be caretaker at the orphanage that lied on the ground before them. After hearing the threat come from the new figure, they ran away as fast as they could. Of course, they didn't get very far with all of the ANBU teams that were surrounding the area.

"All of you are hereby placed under arrest," said who looked to be the leader of the ANBU that were present. After making a quick hand motion, everyone found themselves with a pair of handcuffs on.

"You can't do this to us! The demon must be killed! That _thing _is an abomination that has hurt everyone here in one way or another! You can't deny that you've lost _someone _to that _thing_!" shouted an angry member of the mob.

The blonde's savior walked over to the man and knocked him out with a punch to the back of the head and mumbled, "Shut the hell up, bastard."

An ANBU with a dog-mask landed next to the man and spoke quietly, "Was that really necessary, Asuma-sama?"

"Just trying to get the point across," Asuma grinned stupidly. "By the way, Kaka-I mean Inu-san, please take these idiots to the ANBU headquarters and throw them in holding cells. I'll take the blonde with me to otou-I mean Hokage-sama and explain what happened here."

"Hai!" the dog-masked ANBU said with a short bow and leapt away to inform his teammates. Soon, the alley was cleared of all the civilians and ninja who had participated in the mob attack.

Asuma slowly walked over to the boy he had recently saved and bent down to see him eye to eye. The blonde quickly tried to back up, but found that he was only pushing himself harder into the wall. He let out a small whimper to show his fear.

"Are you okay there?" Asuma asked quietly. _Of course he's not okay! He's got two freaking kunai jammed into his leg and arm. He's also got countless shuriken in his back! Baka! Baka! Baka! _Asuma shouted at himself. He would have grabbed the kid and made a break for the hospital, but he didn't want to scare the hell out of the blonde anymore before the day ended.

In return, the child just stared at him. Since when did anyone give a damn about how he felt? The man before him looked to be in his upper teens, but he couldn't quite tell. He was wearing what looked like a dark green vest of some sorts; one he hadn't seen before. He also had a dark sweatshirt on that led to his pants, which were common black sweats. What he hadn't expected to see was white taping connecting from his pant bottoms to his dark blue sandals. Why did he wear his pants like that? He did have to admit, it looked kind of cool.

Remembering the question, he responded, "I tink so...tankoo fur savin me mistuh!" He was starting to feel a bit more open towards the man after all that he had done for him, but was still a little nervous. _What if he betrays me? What if he's just trying to make me lower my guard, and then kill me when I'm asleep!? _The young blonde was starting to get freaked out as he pondered this topic.

Asuma noticed this when he saw the little boy's face have a look of fear pass through it and decided to speak up. "Hey, don't worry. I promise I won't hurt you." Then he remembered that he had to get to his otou-san's office to explain what happened. "I'm going to get you to the hospital now, okay? Then, I need to go tell the Hokage what happened here."

"Whas a h-hos-spi-ifuh?" the blonde asked slowly, trying desperately to figure out how to pronounce 'hospital.'

Asuma gave a short chuckle at the kid's attempt at saying the word before responding, "Well, a hospital is a place that people go to when they get hurt." After giving a short explanation, he used his hand to give a slight indication to the kunai and shuriken that were lodged in the little boy's body.

"Oh," was the short response from the blonde. He was a little embarrassed that he hadn't known what that was before. He'd heard about the Konoha Hospital when an emergency happened at the orphanage, but didn't exactly know what they were.

"Well, we should really be going now. By the way, what's your name, little guy? I'm Sarutobi Asuma," the older man said with a slight smile.

"Uzumawii Nawuto!" the blonde grinned widely. He had learned his name only a few months ago when he learned how to talk by one of the people at the orphanage. For being only two years old, he felt proud that he could make out most of his name without screwing it up.

"Uzumaki Naruto, eh? Well, nice to meet you then. It's about time we got you to the hospital," said Asuma as he reached down and brought the blonde into his arms to carry him bridal style. The blonde shifted uncomfortably in the big man's arms, feeling slightly nervous. "This is going to feel weird for a moment, but please, just relax."

Asuma then made a weird hand sign as he called out '_Shunshin no Jutsu!_' Naruto quickly closed his eyes because he felt a bit dizzy as the air warped around him. When he was about to ask Asuma how long it would take, he found that they were in front of a large, white building. Before Naruto could say anything, the black haired man had started running toward the building's door.

Once inside, he ran up to the desk and asked for help saying it was an emergency. In response, the receptionist grabbed the phone and was about to make an intercom call when she spotted the boy that the Hokage's son was holding. She snarled at him and put the phone back in its place. "Sorry, but this hospital doesn't help _things _that aren't in need of attention. I'm sure he'll be fine in a few minutes. Please leave now; we have more important _people_ in need of help. Good day."

Asuma felt his shirt get a little wet, and realized Naruto was crying. The blonde wasn't stupid; he knew exactly who the receptionist was talking about – him. The older man was getting impatient and annoyed at their treatment. He didn't care if the person in front of him was a woman; a child needed help, and he was going to get it. "Get some bastard doctors down here this instant. I doubt you'd like my otou-san to come here and pay a visit to you. You'll be in a world of hell if you don't help this child right _now_!"

The receptionist stared at him, her mouth slightly open as if she was about to respond to his comment. Without further hesitation, she reluctantly grabbed the phone once more and spoke into it, "Medic teams 1 and 5! Get down here. We have an emergency on our hands."

Within two minutes, both teams were rushing into the lobby of the hospital with a stretcher. Four out of the six medic-nin there refused their services once they saw who they were supposed to be helping. The other two ignored the fact that Naruto was the demon container and walked up to Asuma to take him into a room to work on him.

"Asuma-sama," the older of the two gave a short bow.

Asuma nodded in return. "Hai. I need you to care for Naruto-san here while I speak with Hokage-sama. He was attacked by a mob of civilians and ninja alike and suffered multiple weapon injuries."

"Hai!" the two in front of him chorused. They reached out to take Naruto when the blonde suddenly jerked away, while Asuma felt the grip of the blonde tighten.

Asuma looked down at Naruto with understanding eyes and said, "Naruto-san, you need to let these men fix you up."

"No!! Wha if tey urt me mowe!" the little blonde cried out. The two doctors in front of him watched sadly as the scene before them played out. The other four had already gone back to their posts not caring for the 'demon's' fate.

"Naruto-san, they're not going to hurt you. I need you to let them help" Asuma tried to assure him, but failed miserably. Noticing the blonde looking even more downcast, he decided to make a promise, "How about this, when they're done, I promise I'll come back to see you, okay?"

That made Naruto lighten up, if only a bit. "Okay. But promise?"

"Hai, I promise," Asuma grinned ever so slightly as he handed Naruto over to the medics.

The medics gave the child a smile as they rushed him into another section of the hospital to remove the weapons and bandage him up.

As Asuma watched them leave, he sighed inwardly. _Now I have to go explain this to otou-san. I wonder how many people are going to be executed for today...Oh well; they did bring this upon themselves. I still can't believe how blind some people are. You'd have to be beyond stupid to think Naruto is the bastard fox...Sadly, some people will always think that way. _With that, he concluded his thoughts and Shunshin'd away from the hospital and to the entrance of the Hokage Tower.

He suddenly had a splitting headache that lasted for several minutes. _Note to self: never use Shunshin on two people at once unless you want a complete migraine._ When his head felt somewhat better, he entered the tower in which his otou-san worked.

After climbing up several stair cases, he walked over to the secretary's desk. "Hi, I'd like to speak with Hokage-sama."

"Well, he-Oh! Asuma-sama! Yes, you may go in, he's free for anoth-" she was cut off with a short 'thank you' as the Hokage's son ran in the direction of his otou-san's office.

Sarutobi was currently reading one of his perverted student's newest books in his office. No one but Jiraiya, Asuma, and a few others knew about their Hokage's secret taste for the series 'Icha Icha Paradise' written but none other than the king of all pervert's, the Gama Sennin.

When he heard a knock on his door, he quickly shoved the book in the drawer for fear of ruining his reputation, and said 'enter.' He sighed when he realized it was only his son, Asuma. Deciding that it would be inappropriate to pull out the book right then as his son stepped in, he asked, "What is it that you came here for, Asuma?" He never added any honorific because Asuma was his son, and never really gave a crap if there was one or not. When they were together, they dropped all formalities for each other unless someone else was present.

"I came here to tell you about the mob that attacked Uzumaki Naruto-san earlier today," Asuma then proceeded to tell his otou-san about the events containing the mob and Naruto all the way up until the point where he left him at the hospital with the two medics. He didn't forget to include the part about over half of the doctors that were called in didn't want to help him. After that he quickly finished his report up.

"I see. I'll have to have a talk with the hospital about this. I'm just glad that Tsunade isn't here. She whoop their asses into the next century if she found out that some medics went against the first promise that they made when entering in the field. Aside from that, I would like to say my thanks for helping Naruto-san. There's no telling what would've happened if you hadn't shown up..." the Hokage trailed off thinking about all of the things that could have happened.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but why was Naruto-san on the streets anyway? Shouldn't he be at an orphanage or something?" Asuma asked, speaking a question that had been on his mind every since he had met Naruto earlier.

"He was living at an orphanage, but was kicked out for reasons unknown by myself. I have gone through and fired several workers, but I can't do much without real proof. He's been living on the streets for just about two weeks now. He was probably attacked today because it's his birthday, also known as the defeat of the Kyuubi no Kitsune," the Hokage sighed and looked at his desk before continuing, "It happened last year to, even when he was at the orphanage. Someone tried to assassinate him while be was asleep in a crib. Luckily, the ANBU caught the man before he got away with it. He was executed in secret later on. I don't know if we'll be so lucky to capture people every year they try and pull something like that, honestly. I wish that there was some way to prevent it. He's too young to get his own apartment. The orphanage will most likely kick him out again. No one wants to adopt him. I have no idea what to do right now."

Asuma thought about everything and only one thing came to mind, "I'll adopt him."

Sarutobi glanced up at his son to see if he was serious. He was.

"And just how will you take enough time off from being a ninja to care for a child? It would be too dangerous for him to look after himself all day if you went on a mission-" the Hokage started, but was cut off by Asuma.

"Hai, it would be with all of the assassins around. That's why I plan to take him with me when I leave for the Fire Temple and join the Twelve Guardians," Asuma said with confidence in his voice.

The Hokage immediately stood up and pounded on his desk and shouted, "Damn it, Asuma! I already told you that I had no intention of letting you go to the Fire Temple! Why must you persist on doing it!? And I most certainly will _not _allow you to go with Naruto! That's the _exact _place where your older brother, Tsuno, went! I told him not to, and he went against orders, and now look where he is," Sarutobi started to sadden at the memories of his oldest son.

Asuma had only half the reaction, "Hai, I know that, otou-san. He died protecting the Daimyou. He made the decision to give up his life for the protection of the leader of Hi no Kuni! It was his duty as a guard, just like it is the duty of all ninja to protect their Kage!"

The last comment made the Hokage flinch. He knew he was beat because his son did have a point. He, Sarutobi, had made countless ninja give up their lives during the Iwa-Konoha War. He was in the same position as the Daimyou. Sighing, he looked up at his son, and said, "Fine, but if you cannot handle Naruto-san and keep up your duty as a guard, Naruto-san will be sent back here immediately. Got it?"

Asuma nodded and bowed. "Hai, _Hokage-sama_."

Sarutobi winced. He knew that Asuma would continue to be distant even if he agreed to it because Asuma knew that his otou-san still hated his decision. After a moment of hesitation, Sarutobi responded, "The moment Naruto-san is released from the hospital, he is all yours. I expect a report on how everything is going once every six months." They then filled out several adoption forms.

"Alright then. Take good care of Uzumaki Naruto-san, Asuma," the Hokage said as they finished up.

"Uzumaki? Why not Sarutobi?" Asuma asked in confusion.

"Two reasons. One: If anyone outside of the clans were to find out that their Hokage was helping the 'demon child,' I'd be lucky to keep my position as leader. I have yet to see any worthy of taking my place, so it would not do good to select a new leader for the village quite yet. Two: Well, you'll learn that reason when the time comes. This reason is of great importance, so until then, the child will be known as Uzumaki Naruto," Sarutobi explained. Asuma had an impassive look on his face throughout the explanation, and took his leave as soon as his otou-san finished up.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair as he heard the door close. _Whatever happens, I hope they'll be alright. If only the village had treated Naruto as a hero and not a demon, none of this would have happened, and I wouldn't be in this mess. _With a sigh, he pulled out his 'Icha Icha Paradise' book and continued reading.

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **Hope you liked my new AU! D Please give me some feedback or correct anything I may have made a mistake on. Thanks!

Zashire


	2. Meeting Kurenai

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

Hiking Off Trail

Chapter 2: Meeting Kurenai

By: Zashire

It was late afternoon in the village of Konoha; the time that many ninja were finishing up their daily missions and reporting back to the Hokage Tower before turning in for the night. The sun was getting ready to set for the evening as several ninja made there way to Sarutobi's office. They had just gotten back from an A-rank mission, which was a privilege to some of them since they were only amongst the ranks of Chuunin. The main reason why they received the higher-ranked mission was because they had a fairly experienced leader. Their leader had been a Chuunin for slightly less than four years, but had taken on many missions that involved deadly situations and always managed to help her comrades pull through. She had a spotless record – no failed missions – and intended to keep it that way.

As they neared the Hokage Tower, she dismissed her three teammates saying they deserved a rest and that she would take it from there. They nodded and disappeared almost instantly. She then continued on her way.

The Chuunin was a tall yet slim woman around the age of eighteen or so. She had pale skin that fit perfectly with her midnight black hair. The woman wore her hair down – she never really liked pony tails, they took too long to put in. The thing that made her really stand out in a crowd was her stunning bright, crimson red eyes. She was often asked if she was an Uchiha or not because of this. The questioner's only response was an annoyed look and then a snort, followed by her walking away.

Her outfit consisted of a dark blue sweatshirt overlapped by a pale green vest, which had many pouches on it for storing things such as small scrolls and the like. The pants she wore were simple dark blue sweatpants – they matched her shirt pretty well – that ended several inches below her kneecaps. Rather than bare skin showing up and down her shin, she had white leg wrappings that went from the cuffs of her pants down to the inside of her navy blue sandals. All in all, she looked like she was supposed to – a regular Chuunin of Konoha.

Soon, she arrived at the tower and walked in. After she quickly greeted the receptionist, she raced up the stairs to get the mission report done with so she could return home. Just imagining her soft comfy bed made her get all the speed she would need to climb the stairs in less than five seconds. Too bad she ran right into something on her way up, causing her and the thing she ran into to fall back down the stairs again.

"Owww..." the black haired woman mumbled as she tried to push whatever was on her off. Thankfully, she hadn't hit her head on anything, so she was okay. Whatever had run into her was going to get it – badly.

"Owww...Sorry about that Kurenai-chan, I didn't look where – Kurenai-chan! You're back!" the man we know as Asuma grinned as he realized who it was he had landed on.

"Asuma-kun, I missed you too, but please, can I get up now?" the woman known as Kurenai asked. Although cheerful that she got to see her boyfriend, she was starting to hurt in places she didn't think existed.

"Heh, heh. Sorry," Asuma apologized as he got off of his girlfriend, and helped pull her up. "By the way, Kurenai-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Filing a mission report," the black haired woman responded as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet. "I could ask you the same. I don't remember you having a mission assigned when I left. Why are you here?"

"Um. I'll explain once you're done with the mission report. C'mon, I'll go with you. Since it's not an S-class mission, it shouldn't be a problem," Asuma said as he walked with Kurenai back to his otou-san's office.

"Fine."

Just when Sarutobi thought he was in the clear to read 'Icha Icha Paradise,' he heard someone knock on his door. Hoping they would go away, he remained quiet and continued on with his book. The knocking came again along with a voice.

"Come on, otou-san! I was in here just a minute ago! I know you're there! Open up!"

"Asuma! Show some respect! We _are_ in the Hokage Tower, and clients could be anywhere!" came the slightly annoyed voice of Kurenai. She dropped the honorific because she was a bit angry with the disrespect Asuma had shown his otou-san.

Sarutobi quickly shoved his book in a drawer. He would have kept it out if it was only Asuma, but since Kurenai was there as well, he couldn't. Straightening his robes, he called out, "Enter!"

The two ninja entered quickly and closed the door behind them. Without saying much, they walked over to the Hokage's desk and gave a short bow.

"Ah, Yuuhi Kurenai-san and Sarutobi Asuma-san, what brings you here?" asked Sarutobi. Sure, he knew Kurenai very well, but he figured she was here to report what happened on her mission, so he went into full business mode.

"I'm here to give a report on the A-rank mission you assigned us. I dismissed my teammates several minutes ago," she reported. She told him how the mission went. They had no casualties whatsoever. Apparently, her group was assigned a mission to take out several groups of bandits, which involved some upper-class missing ninja. The only thing she and her teammates suffered from was exhaustion.

"Very well, I will be sure to get this filed later this evening. So, if you have no questions, you are dismissed," the Hokage said, getting ready to read his perverted book once more. Asuma and Kurenai then gave a quick bow before leaving the Hokage's office.

Once they were in the hallway, Kurenai decided to break the silence.

"Alright, are you going to tell me what you were doing here? I know you never just 'visit' your otou-san because he hates the fact that you're going to the Fire Temple. So, why'd you come?"

Asuma grunted, "I think it'd be better if I showed you."

_Show me? Show me what? _the black haired woman asked herself. She was broken out of her thoughts when she noticed that her boyfriend was halfway down the hall already.

"Hey, wait up!" she called chasing after him. Once she caught up to him, she asked, "What's so important that you can't just tell me?"

"Just wait, and you'll see," was his cryptic response that only annoyed her even more.

They soon left the Hokage Tower and made their way through the streets of Konoha. Before the red eyed woman knew it, they were in front of the village's main hospital.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, confused. She got no response and continued following Asuma as he went to the receptionist's desk.

"_You _again?" the receptionist spat.

"Hai, what room is Uzumaki Naruto in?" Asuma asked, ignoring the way the woman in front of him said her comment.

_Uzumaki Naruto? What the hell is Asuma up to? _Kurenai mentally asked. _And why is this person talking to Asuma this way?_

The receptionist gave an annoyed look before responding, "Room 203."

"Thanks," was the only response before the two in front of her walked away.

"Asuma-kun, what are we doing? And who is this 'Uzumaki Naruto?'" Kurenai questioned.

"You know about otou-san's law, right?" Asuma asked as they walked up the stairs. He didn't even glance in her direction; he was just staring off into space. Kurenai nodded. "Do you know who the brat is?"

She shook her head. _Wait a minute. Why is he bringing this up now?_ Suddenly, things started piecing together in her mind. "Asuma-kun, is this 'Uzumaki Naruto' the one you're talking about?"

Asuma gave a slight nod. Kurenai always had a bright mind, ever since their academy days together.

Soon, they arrived at Naruto's room on floor two. The hospital worked out by having the first number in the room number be the floor it was on, and then having the last two digits be the actually room. It was a pretty organized system that made everything easy to find.

Asuma walked up to the door and gave a soft knock and said, "Asuma here."

They both heard a little cheer on the other side of the door which Asuma took as permission to enter. After he pulled the door open, he found a grinning bandaged up Naruto lying on a hospital bed.

Naruto was happy that someone actually kept their promise to him, so he had a large grin on his face. His happiness faltered slightly at the sight of the unknown woman who was standing next to Asuma.

Kurenai looked at the boy with sad eyes. He had bandages on his right leg and left arm from the kunai that were pinned there. He also had some bandages wrapped around his torso because of the shuriken that he took to the back. The red eyed woman wouldn't have understood why a two year old was in this condition had she not known who he was. She still didn't find it as an acceptable excuse. No child should be in the hospital from weapon wounds.

Asuma watched quietly as Kurenai and Naruto stared at each other. He could only wonder what they were thinking about.

After the semi-long silence, Naruto spoke up, "Who you?"

"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai," the red eyed woman responded. "You must be Uzumaki Naruto-san." Naruto nodded in response.

Asuma then broke in, "Naruto-san, this is Kurenai-chan, she's my girlfriend."

After seeing Kurenai nod, Naruto felt clueless. What was a girlfriend? He'd ask later. He remembered seeing the woman in front of him somewhere before. _Oh yeah!_ "I seen you befowe. You gave me food when I bump inta you." He remembered Kurenai as one of the nicest people he'd ever met. When he was looking in a garbage dump one night and had no luck, he was about to run back to his box, but ran into Kurenai on his way back. He quickly apologized, but Kurenai said not to worry. When she asked him what he was doing on the streets, he said he was looking for food. Seeing how the boy looked to be starving, she gave him an apple that she had. She didn't even know why she had it; it was just in her backpack one day. Naruto took it and thanked her greatly before running off to his alley.

Kurenai now remembered the kid. She nodded before asking, "Why were you on the streets anyways?"

Naruto glanced downward looking sad. Asuma noticed this and figured the young blonde wouldn't want to talk about it, so he took the kid's place and told Kurenai. He explained that how the orphanage kicked the kid out for unknown reasons, and about the mob attack.

"So that's why he's here! Those little bastards!" Kurenai was fuming by the end of the explanation. How could so many people beat up a poor little kid like that? Asuma settled Kurenai down somewhat after a few minutes.

Naruto on the other hand was surprised. Someone actually seemed to care for his wellbeing aside from Asuma. That's two people in one day! Naruto broke out of his thoughts when he noticed Asuma wanted to say something. Too bad Kurenai interrupted first.

"Asuma-kun, why did you come here anyway? I mean yes, I'd like to kill those bastards, but there's got to be another reason other than to collect a 'we hate mobs that attack innocent children' group, right?"

Asuma nodded and sighed. How was Kurenai so damn smart? It would have helped him when he was in the academy to have been like that. Never mind that. He had to tell them both the big news of the day.

"Hai, Kurenai-chan, we did come here for another reason. I want to tell you both that I've become your legal guardian, Naruto. I'm basically your new otou-san." Asuma decided to leave out the honorific since Naruto was now his son, just like he and his otou-san did.

Both Naruto and Kurenai gawked at Asuma. Kurenai was surprised by what Asuma said. She never thought he would be one to take on the responsibility of a parent, especially when he was only seventeen.

Naruto on the other hand didn't know what to be feeling. He didn't think _anyone _would want a 'demon' like him for a child. But right now, someone had proven him wrong. He looked up at Asuma and saw that he was grinning at him. He then looked over at Kurenai and saw that she had a comforting grin on her face as well. The young blonde didn't know what to do. He felt so much happiness inside at the fact that people really cared about him, but at the same time he was wondering why they cared.

Kurenai's grin faded a bit when she noticed tears on Naruto's face. The little boy had started crying. She walked over to his bed and sat down. Without saying a word she pulled him into a gentle hug. She felt her shoulder become wet from the tears that were streaming down his face.

Naruto had unconsciously put his arms around her – as much as a two year old could do – to return the hug. Slowly his crying turned to random sniffles. When Kurenai noticed that he was done, she pulled him onto her lap and let him sit there.

During this, Asuma had wandered over and sat on the other side of Kurenai without Naruto really noticing. His girlfriend paid him no attention as hers was already focused on one blonde. Asuma sat quietly as he watched the scene unfold.

When Naruto had just about stopped sniffling, he looked up and asked, "Why do you cawe abow me?"

Kurenai really didn't know how to respond to this question. She just did what came naturally when she saw the little kid crying – comfort him. She tried to come up with something, but failed miserably.

"Because you're our son," Asuma interjected with a small smile.

_**Our **__son? Since when did he become __**my **__son? _Kurenai thought to herself as she looked down at Naruto. _Well I guess he __**does **__need someone other than Asuma to raise him. _She glanced at Asuma and nodded. She understood the offer to be the boy's mother. Besides, Asuma was her boyfriend, and they had been dating for three years. Some guys asked Asuma why he didn't ask Kurenai to marry him yet. They'd been thinking about it, but for one reason or another never got around to it.

"I guess that means you can think of me as your okaa-san, Naruto," Kurenai said. Naruto cheered up a bit at the thought of having two parents rather than one that truly cared about him. Kurenai then realized something and spoke her thoughts, "Asuma-kun, just how do you plan on raising Naruto if you're leaving for the Fire Temple in eight days!?"

Naruto heard this and immediately dropped his head. He didn't know what this 'Fire Temple' was, but he thought it would take his otou-san away for a while if Kurenai was acting up like this about it. Why would someone adopt him and then ditch him? He was a demon, that's why.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm taking Naruto with me," Asuma said in a matter of fact voice.

Kurenai was about to ask what about her when Naruto did it for her.

"Wha abow okaa-san?" Kurenai was liking this kid more and more by the minute.

"Um...I'd have to ask otou-san for you to go with. I'm not sure he'll say yes, but we could try," Asuma sighed. Three visits to the Hokage Tower in one day. What was next?

"Well, we had better _try_. I've been asking you to come with for the past six months," the wild haired woman said, annoyed with Asuma.

"Hai, I'll go ask," he said, sounding defeated. The Daimyo was probably going to kill him for bringing extra people along for the ride, but nothing he would do could compare to his girlfriend's wrath when she got angry.

"We'll come too. Naru-chan looks better already. If the doctor's let him go, that is," Kurenai said. Naruto gave her a glare that Kurenai matched when she called him 'Naru-chan.' Asuma chuckled and then went to ask the doctors who had taken care of Naruto if he could be released yet. They gave him an okay as long as the kid was handled carefully and didn't run around to much, so he wouldn't reopen any wounds.

When Asuma returned, he told Naruto and Kurenai the good news. Naruto was happy to be out of the white room. He was still sitting on his okaa-san's lap, getting somewhat tired. It had been a long day for him because not many two year olds have a job of out running a mob. Kurenai noticed that Naruto was dosing off, so she shifted him in her lap slightly before standing up. She held Naruto on her right hip with his head on her shoulder.

Asuma smiled at them and held open the door as Kurenai passed through. If the kid was going to do one thing for Asuma, it was to teach him some responsibility. They passed through the hallways quietly, so they wouldn't wake Naruto up.

When they reached the first floor, they passed by the receptionist's desk because it was the only way out. The woman at the desk gave the trio an angry glare. Asuma returned it with double the force, while Kurenai just ignored her and continued on.

It took them ten minutes to reach the Hokage's Tower while walking. Each step of the way made Kurenai gladder that Naruto wasn't awake because every other person they passed gave a glare at them. A few offered smiles; those were the only ones who thought of Naruto as a hero. The number that saw him that was annoyingly low. Many just gave them impassive glances, not really caring what was going on. Kurenai almost reached her limit by the time they made it to the Hokage Tower. Thankfully, she had Naruto in her arms, so she didn't go ballistic because she didn't want to wake him up.

Asuma once again opened the door for Naruto and Kurenai as they entered the tower. Kurenai and Asuma nodded to the secretary on the first floor and told her that they need to see the Hokage once more. She nodded telling them that he was free and sent them in. They walked up the stairs in complete silence and made their way to Sarutobi's office.

For the third time in two or so hours, the Hokage heard a knock on the door. _God damn it! I was just about to find out what happened when Mekano had a one night stay with Kyo! It was supposed to be the best part of the book according to Jiraiya! They –censor–! Damn you whoever you are! _Sarutobi thought to himself before shoving the book in the drawer _again_. "Enter!"

"Hey, otou-san!" said Asuma. Kurenai let go of Naruto with one hand and held him with the other. She used her now free hand to bop Asuma on the back of the head.

"Baka! Show Hokage-sama some respect!" the red eyed woman said waving her fist in the air. She was careful not to raise her voice to loud, so Naruto would stay asleep.

Sarutobi chuckled a bit before saying, "What brings you three here?" He noticed that Kurenai was holding a little child, he just didn't know who.

"Uh, yeah," Asuma said, eying Kurenai while rubbing the back of his head, "We came to ask if I could bring Kurenai along with when I take Naruto to the Fire Temple. She's kind of his adopted mother now."

_Kind of!? What the hell does that mean?_ She was about to bop Asuma again, but Sarutobi broke it up.

"Permission granted," Sarutobi responded. Asuma was slightly shocked because he thought his otou-san would put up _some _kind of fight. But no. Nothing.

Sarutobi on the other hand was thinking: _This is the perfect chance to keep Asuma in line. Kurenai loves him and will keep him out of very dangerous situations. She'll also be a good influence on Naruto while growing up._

When Asuma overcame his shock, he said, "Thanks. We'll be leaving in about two to three days, depending on when we're prepared. They said they didn't even want me to come until I turned eighteen on October 18th. It usually takes a little less than a week to get there, so we'll leave then."

"Sounds fine to me. Don't forget to send a report every six months," the Hokage repeated from Asuma's first visit that day.

Asuma nodded. Kurenai was happy to be going with the two. And Naruto, well, he was asleep at the moment, but you could see a small smile on his face. They walked out of the Hokage's office. Asuma broke the silence as they walked down the stairs.

"Okay. Let's get going Kurenai-chan. Our apartment's on the other side of town, so it'll take about twenty minutes to walk there with all of the people going to the – oh crap!"

"What is it, Asuma-kun?" Kurenai asked, slightly worried.

"Tonight's the Kyuubi's Defeat Festival! October 10th! The way we have to go goes straight through the section of the village where they host it!" Asuma was getting really annoyed with the layout of the village right now.

"We could Shunshin home, couldn't we?" Kurenai asked, pondering the different ways to get back to their apartment.

"Yeah, but you'll have to take Naruto. I took him earlier and almost got drained from taking two people," his girlfriend nodded to his request. She had plenty of chakra left. Even though she was on the mission earlier, she had some time to rest.

"Okay. Let's get going then!" Kurenai announced. They both thought of Asuma's apartment and called out 'Shunshin no Jutsu!' and were gone.

Asuma appeared at his apartment drained. Too many Shunshins in one day. He suddenly realized something was missing. _Oh shit! _Kurenai and Naruto were nowhere near the apartment. _Why did I tell her to take Naruto? I should have done it. She probably got stuck in between here and the Hokage Tower. _With that, Asuma ran off to find his girlfriend and son.

Meanwhile, Kurenai wasn't in the best condition. She and Naruto had made it about three fourths of the way to their apartment and got stuck. She was completely drained of chakra. Kurenai had never attempted a two person Shunshin, so she didn't know exactly how much chakra was needed. She had used all she could afford without causing chakra depletion, and it still wasn't enough.

Someone spotted them and called out to others that the demon brat was in the vicinity. Not good. Kurenai held Naruto tightly and started running. Through all of the shouting, Naruto woke up and was startled to find a mob chasing after him for the second time in one day.

Kurenai was running as fast as she could manage without any chakra. She ran with Naruto in her arms into an alley. Forming a one handed seal, she cast a mini genjutsu over the alley. All of the people that had been chasing them ran into it and screamed. The genjutsu brought their worst fear to life and attacked them in their minds, but made it seem as real as could get to them.

Kurenai then ran around the crowd and back down the main road. She didn't even have enough energy to jump to the rooftops. A kunai struck her shoulder blade of the arm she was holding Naruto with. She almost dropped him, but quickly shifted the little boy to her left arm and continued running. She was doing her best to avoid the pain and kept running. If both arms were free, she would have attacked them back, but she couldn't put Naruto down. She was running out of options. _What can I do?_

Suddenly, she felt a familiar chakra signature and smiled. A shadow dropped down by her and entangled its arms around her waist and Naruto. Soon, she felt herself airborne before landing somewhere. She glanced down and saw rooftops passing by and knew the person that was holding her was jumping from roof to roof. Naruto fell asleep once again from exhaustion during the ride. The figure pulled the kunai out of her arm and let it drop when they landed on the roof that was apparently their final destination. Kurenai whispered, "Thanks, Asuma-kun."

Asuma nodded and opened the door to the apartment. He carried Kurenai and Naruto in and walked into the main bedroom. He let Kurenai down on the bed and ran to get some medical tape. He found it in a cabinet in the bathroom and quickly returned to his girlfriend. He stopped the bleeding and told her to get changed. She did so without hesitation and came back in a tank top and baggy pants. He moved the right strap of her tank top aside and helped wrap her shoulder up. She thanked him again.

"Sorry about telling you to take Naruto home, Kurenai-chan. I should have done it," Asuma said.

"It's my fault. I'd never tried Shunshin-ing two people at once before. At least Naru-chan didn't get hurt," she smiled the last part, enjoying her new nickname for the kid.

"But you did."

"Asuma-kun, what's done is done. Besides, it doesn't hurt that much," she lied. Asuma could tell she was lying even with the lights out.

Asuma grunted in response and helped her change Naruto into something more comfortable. The shirt was really big on him. He wore the same shorts at Kurenai's demand because she didn't want him to wake up and found out that he had slipped out of his pants. Asuma almost burst out laughing at the way Naruto was dressed, but managed to keep it in. He also got everything that happened out of her during the process, which made him angrier.

Kurenai picked Naruto up and followed Asuma to the front door. He spoke up.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to go make sure that the mess got cleaned up. Try to get some sleep," he leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "Good night. I'll try to be back in ten to fifteen minutes. I love you."

She kissed him back, "I love you...and Naru-chan."

"And Naruto," he repeated. He watched her retreating form as she walked back into the bedroom holding Naruto. He heard them get into bed and walked out the door.

It took him a while to get back to the alley where all of the civilians were under the genjutsu, but he found them. ANBU were already in the area, which made him happy. Less people would harm his girlfriend and son. When he was sure that everything was under control, he found his otou-san.

"Hokage-sama," Sarutobi saw his son and nodded. Business mode.

"Hai, Asuma-san?" he asked. He knew Asuma would show up. "I have a feeling Yuuhi-san placed these people under genjutsu, correct?"

Asuma nodded. He then explained what he knew had happened. The Hokage nodded.

"Thanks, Asuma-san," and then in a lower voice he said, "Don't worry; they won't get off the hook that easily."

Asuma smirked lightly before turning around to head home. It took a while to find it, but with the random street lights, he managed. He didn't even bother knocking because he didn't want to wake anyone else up. Finding his key, he unlocked the door and wandered in.

When he made it to the bed room, he found an adorable sight. Kurenai was asleep in the middle of the bed with her arms wrapped around Naruto. The little blonde's hand was holding onto one of Kurenai's arms. Both had light smiles on their faces.

Asuma grinned and got changed into a pair of boxers quickly and hopped in bed on the other side of Kurenai. He placed an arm around the two of them and fell asleep.

Sandaime watched all of this through his crystal ball and smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let them all be a family. They were off to a great start.

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **Owww...can't type anymore. Hands hurt. I was going to cut it off earlier but wanted to type more. Also...when I said 'She was running out of options.' no pun intended. xD

otou-san: dad

okaa-san: mom

hai: yes

I'm trying to avoid too much random Japanese things because they can be annoying, but it's fun to put them in there.

I'm leaving the baby talk in, Anonymous Reviewer 'aa,' please just deal with it or don't read my story if it bothers you that much. It'll be gone when he grows up (for obvious reasons).

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I read and love all of them.

R&R!

Zashire


	3. The Day Before

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. But I _do _own _you _for the however many minutes it takes to read this.

**A/N: **Um, Naruto is going to be using forks, knives, and spoons in this chapter. I had pancakes for breakfast this morning, so that's hat he's having. I gave them silverware because it's really weird trying to picture them eating pancakes with chopsticks. Sorry if it seems a little weird.

Asuma might start smoking later. I'm not sure. If he does, it won't be until Naruto's grown up some more. Kurenai would beat the crap out of him if she saw him smoking around a two year old.

This is random as hell, but I found a really funny series of videos on YouTube. Go to YouTube and type: 'The Sexy Milk Jump' in the search bar and click the first one that shows up. It's soooo random, but it's great! Now, back on topic. On with the story!

Hiking Off Trail

Chapter 3: The Day Before

By: Zashire

The morning after the Kyuubi Festival came quickly for some on October 11th. The orange and yellow colors of the sun slowly peaked over the hills to the east of Konoha and brought warmth to the village as civilians and ninja began their day. Several people were running morning errands to the local grocery store to buy food for the week, or just plain enjoying the new day as it came.

Although many people had awoken early, a certain trio was enjoying the peaceful morning in the world of unconsciousness. Two black haired adults, and one blonde haired boy.

They were all in the same bed, thankful for the heat radiating off of the others since it was a somewhat chilly morning. The small blonde wiggled around a little bit and started waking up. He noticed that both his otou-san and okaa-san had their arms wrapped around him. His thoughts traced back to the previous day and he smiled.

Yesterday was the best day of the little blonde's short life. He found not one, but _two _people who care for him – _and _adopted him. He remembered how his otou-san had saved him from a mob. Then, he found out that his okaa-san was the woman who had given him the apple a week or so ago. They were both so nice to him!

He suddenly remembered the second mob. He had woken up in his okaa-san's arms while she was running. Did that mean she had saved him too? Maybe. The only thing that he could recall was falling asleep from exhaustion almost immediately after waking up.

He finally cracked both eyes open and looked at his okaa-san. Her arms were so warm. Along with his otou-san's arm, which covered both of them, he felt more comfortable than ever. This was a million times better than sleeping in the soggy old discarded box! It was a real bed! These were real people! They were a real family now! His family!

He felt safe from all of those bad people that lived outside. He felt that as long as he was with them, he would always be safe! And one day when he got strong enough, he would keep them safe! That's what families did, right? Right?

He then noticed something about his okaa-san. What was that white thing under her tank top? He recognized it from somewhere. Glancing down at his arm, he made the connection. His okaa-san was hurt like he was. Did that mob do it to her last night? What had happened while he was asleep?

During this process, Kurenai felt something wiggle in her arms every so often. She was always on alert since she was a ninja, and a ninja never knew when an enemy might attack. She cracked an eye open and saw Naruto's big blue eyes staring not into hers, but rather at her shoulder. _Great_, she thought. She hadn't wanted Naruto to know about the attack last night. He'd probably think it was his fault she got hurt. It was her fault, not his. She was the one that misjudged the correct amount of chakra needed to Shunshin two people at once. Not him. He was asleep the entire time. He was only two. She had to give him credit that he managed to stay awake as long as he did.

Sighing, she whispered, "It's alright, Naru-chan. I didn't get hurt too bad, alright? I'm fine. I'm more worried about you and your injuries. C'mon, let's get out of bed. I'll wake Asuma up so we can go out to eat."

_Out to eat? What does that mean? _Naruto asked himself, clearly confused. He shoved that question aside figuring he'd get an answer later and let his attention return back to the real world.

Kurenai shifted around in bed so she was facing Asuma. She ran a hand through his hair and said in a soft voice, "Asuma-kun, wake up."

He didn't budge.

Kurenai tried again, this time a bit louder, "Asuma-kun, wake up."

He _still _didn't budge.

"DAMN IT, ASUMA!! GET YOUR SORRY ASS OUT OF BED THIS INSTANT!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs while bopping him on the head.

That got a nice reaction.

Asuma shot up and grabbed a kunai that he kept on his nightstand in case of an attack. He was in a battle stance in less than two seconds.

Kurenai on the other hand had a vein twitching on her forehead. She was about ready to punch him again with the strength that would rival Tsunade's, but decided against it. Last time that happened, the payment for the replacement window came out of _her _paycheck! Damn Asuma! He was the one who broke the freaking thing!

Naruto was surprised so badly by the sudden change in volume and at his okaa-san's cursing that he fell over out of bed. He felt totally blown away by the sound. _Man! She yells louder than all of the people in both mobs combined!_ His ears were still ringing when Kurenai asked if he was alright.

"Me fine," he responded in a weak voice as he grabbed her arm that as extended to help pull him up. "Tanks!"

The red eyed woman grinned in response before looking back at Asuma. She asked, "Are you finally up?"

He nodded stupidly and put the kunai back.

"Good. Now go get changed so we can go out to eat. I'll get Naru-chan changed into his clothes from yesterday. While we're out, we'll get him something new to wear. This is coming out of _your _bank account since you 'couldn't afford' a new window, GOT IT?" she pretty much demanded it rather than asked.

"Yes, sir, I mean ma'am," he ran off to the bathroom to get a quick shower before getting changed.

Kurenai sighed. Asuma could be so lazy at times, but he sure was fun as hell to order around! She chuckled mentally. All in a day's work. But, DAMN! Windows are so freaking expensive! She blew off all of those thoughts and picked Naruto up telling him they had to go get changed – as if he hadn't heard the message already.

It took them about thirty minutes to take their showers and get ready to go out to eat. By the time they were done, it was around eight thirty in the morning. _Not a bad way to start off a day_, Kurenai thought to herself. They had a _lot _to do today. Asuma and Kurenai had finalized that today was their last full day in Konoha. Tomorrow, they would be leaving around noon, so they would have enough time to sleep in _and _get a good start on traveling.

She broke out of her thoughts and walked into the living room to get Naruto. Before she had left to take her shower, she set him down on the couch and gave him a picture book, which he seemed to have taken a mild interest in. It was about some animals that could be found around the different countries of the ninja world. He seemed to be staring at the different pictures, trying to memorize what each animal looked like.

Kurenai saw that he had stopped flipping through the book and was looking down on one page. He noticed that his okaa-san had entered the room and asked her what the animal was. The red eyed woman was slightly surprised when he called her over. She was a bit too focused on other things and almost missed the call. She swerved around the table and another couch to get to Naruto. Kurenai then leaned on the couch that her son was sitting on to see what the animal was.

Fuzzy, pointed ears. Big, fluffy tail. Small, yet dangerous. Long, sharp canines.

_Wow, how ironic_, she thought. "That, Naru-chan, is a fox."

He nodded. He remembered seeing one before when he was searching through alleys for food. The small critter was doing the same thing as him.

Before they could hold anymore of a conversation, Asuma came out of the bedroom saying he was ready to go. Both of Naruto's new parents wore the same thing as yesterday because they were active ninja. The same went for Naruto, not because he was a ninja, but simply because those were the only clothes that fit him in the entire apartment.

Kurenai got off the couch and picked Naruto up. He could walk, but if felt good to have comforting arms around him all day. The trio walked over to the door and left the apartment complex to get some breakfast.

They wandered the streets of Konoha for a bit to look for something good to eat. Kurenai asked Naruto what he would like to eat. The little blonde didn't know what to say, and responded that he never had a choice at the orphanage, so he really didn't care.

Asuma was getting really hungry and annoyed at how long it was taking them to find a restaurant. He suggested a pancake house that was about a block away. His girlfriend nodded, indicating that it was a good choice, so they walked on over.

On the way, Naruto thought to himself, _What's a pancake?_ He thought it would be a weird thing to ask since it seemed like such a common term, so he waited to find out.

It took them several minutes to find the restaurant, but they managed. The building itself was sort of small, but just the right size for people to come and have breakfast at. Naruto was amazed by how clean the place was on the inside. The orphanage was next to nothing in comparison to this place! He was brought out of his thoughts when Kurenai and Asuma walked over to a booth and sat down.

Kurenai placed Naruto on her right so he was on the inside of the booth. She then reached over for a menu, as did her boyfriend. Asuma already knew what he wanted since he came her every one once in a while before a mission – a regular buttermilk pancake. He never really cared for complicated food at fancy restaurants, so he liked going somewhere simple, especially since the food was made faster.

His red eyed girlfriend usually got strawberry flavored pancakes because they tasted really sweet. She was easy like Asuma.

Naruto, on the other hand, had no clue as to what he wanted. He'd never seen such a variety of food before. His okaa-san had to help him pick out what to eat. She told him what she didn't think tasted very good, so it helped him narrow down his choices. He finally selected blueberry pancakes. He'd had a few blueberries at the orphanage before, and thought they tasted pretty good. He now wondered what they would taste like inside this so-called 'pancake.'

A waitress saw the trio arrive and walked over to them, ignoring the fact that one of them was the 'Kyuubi-brat.'

"Hello, and welcome to Gatui's Pancake House. My name is Yuni. I'll be your waiter this morning, so if you need anything, just ask. Have you decided what you would like yet?" the young woman greeted. Asuma ordered for all three of them. Naruto's parents ordered coffee, while he had chocolate milk. His okaa-san suggested it, so he figured, why not?

The waitress wrote down their orders in a notebook and said that their meals would be ready soon, and then walked away.

"She nice," the little blonde said. Aside from his otou-san and okaa-san, the waitress had probably been one of the kindest people to him in his short life.

"Aww, does Naru-chan have a crush on the waitress?" Kurenai said in a cute voice. Asuma chuckled at Naruto's blank face.

"Cwush?" the blonde asked, confused. Kurenai pouted, mumbling 'never mind.' She'd get him when he was older.

"Okay, okay. What exactly do we have to do today?" Asuma said, steering away from the topic.

"Well, after this, I think we should get Naru-chan some new clothes." She glanced down at the ones he was wearing before continuing, "We also have to go to Hokage-sama to finalize the trip to the Fire Temple tomorrow, and to be taken off of the active ninja roster."

"Yeah, and we should probably stop by a few stores to make sure we have enough equipment to get through a week of traveling. We'll be able to get more food once we reach the Fire Temple," Asuma said, thinking aloud.

"We'll probably have some time after our visit with Hokage-sama. Maybe we'll take you to the park, Naru-chan," Kurenai smiled at the blonde.

Naruto knew what a park was since the orphanage took them to one every once in a while. Maybe this time he could make friends with someone. He then remembered a question that he had thought of while his parents were talking.

"Howage-sama?" he asked. It sounded like the person was important by the way they talked about him, but who was he?

"Hokage-sama is the leader of this village, Naruto. He's also technically your ojii-san." He may not like his father as much as he used to, but he wasn't going to deny Naruto a chance to get to know him later today, or when they came back from the temple.

Naruto perked up knowing that he had more relatives than just his okaa-san and otou-san. He now also had an ojii-san! The blonde really hoped that his ojii-san would care about him, and not be like all of the other villagers who wanted to hurt him on a daily basis.

Asuma saw a look of panic cross Naruto's face and quickly assured him that Sarutobi wouldn't harm Naruto in any way. Kurenai was hoping that as Naruto grew up his ability to trust people would get better because at the moment, she thought that Naruto would have a hard time letting someone take care of a dandelion he'd just picked, or something along those lines. If he ever became a ninja, he would need to learn to have some faith in his comrades and not expect the worst out of everyone.

She sighed and put that thought elsewhere for now because their food was just arriving. The smell of the different flavored pancakes almost reached their noses before the actual sight of the food reached their eyes. It smelled so good to all three of them.

Yuni brought the food up to their table and handed out the drinks first, and then give everyone their own plate.

Naruto was surprised by the size of the food. He'd never had this much before in one sitting! He quickly grabbed a fork and knife to cut the first piece. Kurenai saw this and grabbed the knife. She didn't want him cutting himself, and getting yet another injury. Naruto felt the knife being pulled away from him and looked at his okaa-san questioningly.

"I don't need you cutting yourself," she said simply before cutting the pancake into little bite-sized pieces. Naruto didn't complain, and started eating. As soon as he was done with the first bite, he said 'yum!' to show his delight in the food. Both of his parents smiled softly, and then they all continued eating.

It took them almost forty-five minutes to eat in between talking and chowing down. By the time they left the restaurant, it was around nine thirty. They thought about going to the clothing store, but decided to do their trip to the Hokage Tower first since Naruto kept pestering them with questions about his ojii-san.

Naruto had never been in the Hokage Tower before. Well, he _had_ but he was asleep in Kurenai's arms at the time, so this would be the first time that he had ever seen the inside of it. The small family walked in and up to the secretary's desk.

"Hello, Sarutobi Asuma-sama, Yuuhi Kurenai-san, and...er," she never got the kid's name. She knew about the Kyuubi container, but hardly anyone knew his name.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Asuma said quickly.

"Well, nice to meet you, Naruto-san," she said giving the blonde a kind grin before continuing, "Hokage-sama is busy at the moment. He should be available in a few minutes."

Asuma and Kurenai nodded their thanks and walked up the stairs to wait in the few chairs that were placed outside of the Hokage's door. They sat down and talked about random things for a few minutes when Naruto said he had to go to the bathroom.

The blonde hopped off of his okaa-san's lap as his otou-san got up to go with. They walked side by side down the hallway in the direction of the restrooms. Asuma knew the building like the back of his hand, so he didn't need to ask anyone where the bathroom was.

Naruto finished before Asuma did, so he ran out to wait for him in the hallway. He stood by the wall closest to the bathroom, staring at a few pictures on the opposite wall. It wasn't anything to special, but it caught his attention momentarily. While he was focused on a few pictures, the main Uchiha family had just exited the Hokage's office and was now walking down the hallway towards Naruto to leave the building.

As the family passed, what looked to be the father said, "Hmm...would you look at that? The demon brat's in the Hokage Tower. Now why would garbage such as you be here rather than in the orphanage? Did you scare the caretakers too much?" Naruto was about to respond but the man cut him off. "Don't complain to me. It's not my fault you don't have any parents-"

"I'd appreciate it if you stop verbally assaulting my son." He was cut off by Asuma who was exiting the bathroom. "Stop pushing the kid around, Fugaku. You're just degrading yourself by doing this."

Fugaku scoffed at the disrespect he was given, but then realized something. "_Your _son? Since when was the demon brat _your _child?"

Naruto was already starting to hate this guy. He noticed that the man seemed to have two kids and a wife. His wife just stood there, not really looking at anything. She really had no opinion on the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Fugaku's oldest son was watching Naruto impassively. They made eye contact as Naruto glanced at him. Naruto watched as the kid's eyes turned from black to red and 'grew' two black tomoes each.

The little blonde felt slightly intimidated by this, but that disappeared when the kid's eyes went back to normal. He seemed to have found whatever he was looking for – if he was looking for anything. Naruto turned to see a small child in the Uchiha's wife's arms. He looked to be about Naruto's age.

The small raven haired boy looked down at Naruto from his okaa-san's arms. He seemed to be enjoying the fact that it looked like he was towering over the blonde. The kid seemed to feel more powerful that way. Naruto then jerked his attention back to the situation at hand.

Asuma seemed to have ignored Fugaku's last comment. He walked over to Naruto and picked him up rather than letting him walk by his side. Naruto glanced back over Asuma's shoulder and saw that the Uchiha had already started walking away. He noticed that the smaller kid was staring back at him. _What does he want?_ Naruto thought to himself. He broke the eye contact and looked forward as they walked back to Kurenai.

When they got back, they found they she had already gone into Sarutobi's office. Asuma opened the door and found her sitting at one of the two chairs in front of the desk. He quickly joined her and let Naruto sit on his lap. The red eyed woman glanced over at her boyfriend before quickly looking back at the Hokage.

"Okay, now that you're all here, I need you two to sign these papers to be taken off of the active duty roster," the Hokage handed them each a sheet of paper and a pen. They read them over quickly before signing at the bottom. Sandaime collected the documents and put them aside. "Now, you are leaving tomorrow, correct?"

Both Asuma and Kurenai nodded.

"Do you have any idea when you're going to be back?" Sarutobi didn't really know what to expect because he never really talked to the Daimyo about the Twelve Guardians.

"Probably in about five years or so. When we get there, I have to finish up my training for six months. Then, I'll be named as one of the guardians. They usually replace the guardians with new ones every four to eight years. It all depends on what's happening at the moment," Asuma finished his explanation.

"Alright. I expect you to tell me when you're coming back in one of your letters, got it?" Asuma nodded, so he continued, "Something you should take into consideration while there is whether Naruto wants to become a ninja or not. If he does, the academy takes students in at the age of eight at the latest. It's a four year program, with the exception of some like Hatake Kakashi. Most of the time people start their children at the age of eight to let them have more of a childhood. That would mean that the maximum time you could be gone for would be about six years."

Asuma nodded. He wasn't going to make his son decide if he wanted to be a ninja at two years old. The trio would probably have a discussion about it in several years, so he put that thought away for then.

"Awe you Howage?" Naruto asked abruptly. He remembered his parents saying something about visiting the Hokage, but he didn't even know what the person looked liked.

The others almost face faulted at that comment. Sarutobi answered quickly, "Why, yes I am. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Sandaime Hokage. I know you're Naruto already."

Naruto smiled, "You my ojii-san!" Kurenai picked up Naruto off of Asuma's lap and walked him over so he could give his ojii-san a hug.

Sarutobi took Naruto out of Kurenai's hands while Naruto gave him a big hug. "Nice to meet you, Naruto." The blonde nodded.

Kurenai was still standing by the Hokage with Naruto on his lap when someone popped in through the window. The little blonde saw that the man had long white hair and wore a pale green long sleeve shirt, followed by a pair of paled green pants that went down a bit past his knees, much like his parents. A red vest overlapped his green shirt, which Naruto thought looked funny and cool at the same time. For shoes, he wore some weird sort of sandals. They didn't look at all like his parents, but they seemed to go with his outfit. The thing that stuck out the most was the large scroll that he kept on his back. It was huge! _That might even be as big as me! _

"Hey, sensei! Whatcha up to?" the white haired man asked, completely ignoring the other three beings that were present.

"Nothing much, Jiraiya," the Hokage responded as his student walked over.

_Jiraiya!? That's the author of Kakashi's books_, he thought, but then realized something, _Oh shit! Kurenai's here! _"Uh, Kurenai-chan, I think we should get going."

"Why?" she asked, looking towards Asuma questioningly.

Her boyfriend was about to respond but was cut off when Jiraiya recognized Naruto and whispered to his sensei, "What's he doing here?" Naruto didn't hear the question because he was focused on his okaa-san and otou-san.

"Yesterday, those two adopted him. I'll fill you in later," he whispered back. Kurenai and Asuma were staring at them.

"Anything you'd like to share with us?" Kurenai asked, looking annoyed.

"No, nothi- Oh! I just remembered! I just finished the newest volume! Here you go!" the white haired man then pulled out the latest version of 'Icha Icha Paradise.' Sarutobi tried to shove it back in Jiraiya's pouch as fast as he could. (By now, Naruto had gotten off of Sarutobi's lap and had run back over to his parents.) Sadly, he was too late.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Kurenai snapped when she saw what was being shoved away. "Icha Icha Paradise!? It's not smart to show that filth in front of women." Her voice was sickly sweet and she had a strained grin on her face as she moved closer to the legendary ninja, who were now backing away slowly and crammed up against the wall.

Jiraiya tried to calm her down, "You know, you do have a great figure. I'm sure if you gave the book a chance, you'd love trying some of those things on your boyfriend over there... or me," he whispered the last part. Too bad for him, everyone heard it. Jiraiya soon saw a brass knuckle come whizzing through the air, aimed right at him. He ducked as low as he could, just barely managing to avoid it. When he looked up, he saw two angry ninja and tried to make a break for it with his sensei.

Kurenai reached out and grabbed the backs of their clothing. Almost simultaneously, they found themselves receiving a free ticket to the top of the Hokage Mountain, courtesy of a certain red eyed woman.

Asuma had calmed down when his girlfriend started punching people out the window and was now hiding with Naruto in a corner. He heard Naruto whisper 'I'm scared' and nodded in response. He said, "Just remember to never make women mad!" Now it was Naruto's turn to nod.

Kurenai turned around, seeming to have gone back to her previously calm self. She walked over and saw Naruto cringe in fear. "What?" Naruto then stared at her with disbelieving eyes. _How did she go back to normal so quickly?_

The black haired woman brushed it off and said it was time for them to go. Asuma nodded and got up. As they walked out the door, they noticed that the Jounin guards were staring at them as if they were crazy. Kurenai walked right passed with Naruto by her side as her boyfriend stopped.

"Uh, Hokage-sama will be back in a few minutes. Heh. He, uh, went with Jiraiya-sama because they had some important business to discuss at..." he glanced out the window before continuing, "...the Hokage Monument. So...bye!" Asuma took off after Kurenai and Naruto, leaving two very skeptical Jounin at his otou-san's office.

"Think it had to do with Icha Icha?" one of the Jounin guards asked. The other responded with a nod, and went back to his post. Apparently Sarutobi's secret wasn't as well-kept as he thought among the ninja ranks.

When they were outside again, Naruto saw some people pass. He saw a child riding on his otou-san's shoulders and wanted to see of he could do the same.

Asuma saw this and wasn't surprised at all when the blonde came over and asked, "Up?" The big man nodded and lifted Naruto up onto his shoulders. Naruto clung onto his hair while Asuma held onto the kid's feet. Kurenai smiled at the two as they did this. The little blonde loved the feeling of the light breeze that he never felt before on the ground because he was short. He thanked his otou-san for letting his do this, so they continued on.

"Now we need to get you some new clothes, Naru-chan." Asuma and Naruto nodded. The blonde had already gotten used to being called that weird nickname. "Let's head over to Hakita's Ifuku. That's where we get all of our clothes from."

Asuma nodded again. "Sounds good to me." Naruto had no clue what they were talking about, so he just went with it.

It didn't take very long for the trio to find the store they were after, though they would have gotten there faster if there hadn't been a sale going on at the store across the street from it. They had to push their way through a couple of crowds, but finally made it.

Thankfully, there weren't many people in the clothing department so it would be easier to look around. The person that was at the cash register spotted them and called out, "Good morning! Welcome to Hakita's Ifuku! Just let me know if you need any help finding anything!"

Naruto smiled and nodded with his parents to the kind lady. He never knew that people were this nice. Maybe he had just met the wrong citizens. These people weren't chasing him out of their shops; they were letting him buy stuff from it. His grin got even wider when he saw what different types of clothes there were.

Kurenai saw this and said, "Get anything you'd like." Then, she gave an evil smirk to Asuma as he put Naruto down. "Remember our little _agreement_." With that said, she ran off to help her blonde son find some suitable clothing to wear, leaving a broken Asuma by the door.

_My bank account's history. Maybe if I run away right now? _The blacked haired man quickly shoved that thought to the back of his mind. _No way! I'd be paying with my life rather than money! _He sighed, mentally crying for his money, and made his way over to where his girlfriend and son were.

Naruto had been looking through the shirts and saw some that he liked. He pulled them off of the hanger and brought them to his okaa-san who was only a few meters away. He handed them to her so she could see if they were okay.

Kurenai found it ironic once again at how Naruto chose something that had to do with foxes. The first shirt that he had handed her was an orange t-shirt with a red fox head on the front. The second was a white shirt with a red swirl on the back, just like the ones on the Chuunin and Jounin vests. Finally, the third shirt was pale green with nothing on it. She wondered why he had picked it and then realized that it was the exact same color as her and Asuma's Chuunin vests. _Naruto's got imagination, I'll give him that_, she thought to herself.

"I like the designs, Naru-chan, but you'll have to try them on for size, okay?" Kurenai wasn't even expecting an answer. She walked over and told him to follow her to the fitting rooms. Naruto did so without question. She told him to go in and wait for her because she had to talk to Asuma about something.

The black haired woman walked over to her boyfriend and talked to him for a few minutes. She saw him nod, so she went back to help her 'Naru-chan.'

After they found out that one of the shirts was too big, Kurenai went back to the rack and found a size smaller. She had Naruto try that one on, and it fit perfectly.

The little blonde really liked the clothing that she was having him try on. Every time he got out of the old trashy looking t-shirt, he felt like he was actually something more than an orphan on the street. He sure looked like it, to say the least.

Asuma decided to let his girlfriend handle the matter of finding the clothing for Naruto since he was paying for it. That and the fact that they were almost done with part of it, already. He decided to lean against one of the walls, and wait for them to finish.

Kurenai picked out a few more random colored shirts – black, dark blue, another orange - because the kid wasn't going to live off of three shirts for the next few years. _Well, we can always get him more at the temple_, she thought, but then remembered that it would be coming out of her paycheck next time.

When she had finished looking for t-shirts, she moved Naruto over to the pants section to select a few pairs. The little blonde was amazed once again by how many pants there were, and started looking almost immediately. He pushed through some of the clothing racks to try and find some decent pairs, but came back empty handed. He then asked Kurenai for help, which she did so willingly.

They found a few colors that Naruto liked – orange, black, and green. Kurenai used those ideas and found them in shorts. She found sizes that fit Naruto and picked out a couple of each.

"Okay, these look good. Now we have to go get you some underwear rather than diapers because I doubt you'll let me change you," Kurenai glanced back to see Naruto shaking his head, saying that he wouldn't let her. "As long as you don't pee in anywhere but a bathroom or bush, I'm fine with that." Naruto nodded. Diapers sucked. He was glad that he wouldn't have to wear them.

They found several pairs of underwear that fit the little blonde, so they went with it.

The trio was about to leave when Kurenai remembered something – shoes. She dragged Naruto into the back of the store, while Asuma thought: _What now?_

The blonde knew _exactly _what kind of shoes he wanted: blue ninja sandals! His red eyed mother sighed; _Of course that's what he'd want_. After talking about becoming a ninja with the Hokage, all Naruto could seem to think about was ninja, ninja, ninja! She sighed again and was mildly surprised that they had those types of shoes in that size. She'd never bothered looking before because she had no reason. Now she did.

_This store really _is _handy_, she thought before saying out loud, "Here they are, Naru-chan. That just about wraps it up. Time to go destroy your otou-san's bank account." She gave the evil smirk to Asuma again.

He backed away thinking: _Will she _ever _forget about the damn window? Besides, what good does it do if both of our bank accounts are blown away? _He then realized something. _Oh shit. A position in the Twelve Guardians pays better than a Chuunin ninja rate! I bet she knew that all along! So. Not. Fair._

Naruto stared at what was going on between his okaa-san and otou-san. _Otou-san's right. Women are scary. _Kurenai then, knowing she had scared Asuma enough, turned back to her son with a smile on her face. _And just _how _does she do that!? One second she's evil looking, the next she's all happy. It's really starting to creep me out._

"Ready to go, Naru-chan?" The blonde nodded dumbly and followed her to the cashier with Asuma close behind. Kurenai put all six shirts, six shorts, pairs of underwear, and the ninja sandals for Naruto on the counter for the cashier to ring up. Asuma continued mumbling random things under his breath while he pulled out the money to pay for the clothing.

The big man was happy when he found out that the clothing didn't cost too much, so he still had a good amount of money to live off of. He almost gave a cheer, but stopped when he felt someone glaring daggers into his back. Turning around, he saw Kurenai who said, "We still have to go to lunch, get some more storage scrolls more the trip, and that _thing _I told you about for later." That made him whimper and shut up shortly after.

"Okaa-san, pawk?" Naruto asked, tugging on her sleeve. Kurenai had almost forgotten about that idea from breakfast. She glanced at the clock and nodded.

"We have a few hours to kill before lunch, so why not?" She picked up Naruto while Asuma grabbed the shopping bags.

When they were outside, Naruto noticed that his otou-san had gone the other way and asked Kurenai, "Where he gwoing?"

The blacked haired woman already knew why her boyfriend had left and said, "He has to go do something. I'm sure he'll be back before lunch." Her blonde son nodded, so she continued the walk to the park.

Konoha's main playground was located just below the Hokage Monument, albeit slightly to the left. The playground was meant for older children around eight or nine, but had a section for kids younger than that.

Nearby the playground was a lake that went almost halfway around the Hokage Mountain. It was surrounded by many trees, but had a decent sized walkway that circled it. Several civilians could be spotted fishing at it on a daily basis because it was one of the best lakes in Hi no Kuni. There were a few other lakes that made great fishing spots, but many villagers figured that if you had a body of water almost in your back yard, why not use it?

It was also one of the best places for ninja with a water affinity. The waterfall that was just on the outskirts of Konoha didn't usually provide enough water given how shallow it was at the bottom and top. Sure, the bottom of the waterfall made a great place for swimming, but not so much for practicing jutsu. The lake, on the other hand, was great because of how deep it was. It was an almost endless supply of water for people to use.

The only people who knew how it was made were the ones that were alive during the Kyuubi attack. When the Kyuubi was sealed away by Yondaime Hokage, its body fell and made a crater before turning to ash from being burned. It was sort of the Kyuubi's final resting place – well its body, anyways. Some people were surprised that such a horrible monster could make something that beautiful, but threw that thought away and just enjoyed the view of it.

"So, Naru-chan, what do you think?" Kurenai asked as she looked down at her blonde son. The little boy gave no response; he only stared in awe at the beauty of the park before him. The red eyed woman smiled slightly at his wonderment.

She glanced back up and saw some children from other clans playing in a sandbox and asked, "Hey, Naru-chan, why don't you go play with them?" Kurenai nodded in the direction of the other children. Naruto shook his head and ran behind her as quick as he could. The red eyed woman sighed and turned around. She picked up Naruto and walked him over to the sandbox where the others were playing.

"Hey guys," Kurenai said, giving a smile to the two younger children. Their okaa-san was sitting at a bench right outside of the sandbox and looked over at the newcomer.

"Ah, Kurenai-chan. What are you doing here? Ninja don't traditionally have battles on playgrounds, do they?" a dark haired woman with upside down red triangles on her face joked. "Who've you got there?" She now acknowledged Naruto with a nod in his direction.

"Hey Tsume-chan, this is Naruto," Kurenai responded. "Let me guess, that's Kiba, right?"

"Yep, the pup turned two three months ago. Hana over here turned seven back in April," Tsume said, completely ignoring the fact that Naruto held the Kyuubi within him. Hana sat next to Kiba in the sandbox. They were both working on a sand castle on the side closest to their mother.

Hana noticed the newcomers and ran up to them without a second thought. "Hi! My name's Hana! Wanna play with me and my otouto?" she asked energetically, some of her canines bared by her somewhat wide smile.

Naruto looked at his okaa-san somewhat fearfully. She gave him a nod, and set him down. "Go on, Naru-chan. I'll be over here talking with Tsume-chan."

Hana took the opportunity and reached out to grab Naruto's wrist. The little blonde didn't have any time to react before he was pulled directly into the sandbox and was settled down next to the energetic girl's brother.

"I Kiba," the younger boy said, giving a grin that showed his canines.

"I Nawuto," the blonde responded, also with a grin. The weird thing about his smile was that he had slightly elongated canines like Kiba and Hana. Kiba's older sister noticed this.

"Hey, how come you have big canines like we do?" she asked, confused. Naruto gave her a confused look and shrugged. Hana gave a weird look before she started to tell their new friend how to build a sand castle.

The adults on the bench overheard the children's conversation and Tsume turned to Kurenai. "Think it's the fox?" The other woman gave a slight nod before they decided to talk about what they missed since they last saw each other. Kurenai was sure to inform Tsume of her and Asuma's adoption of Naruto the previous day. Her older friend said that she was happy for them, and joked that she never remembered Kurenai getting pregnant at sixteen. The red eyed woman blushed and was about to bonk her friend like she did Asuma, but stopped when she saw Hana, Naruto, and Kiba looking at something in the corner of the sandbox.

"Okaa-san, wha's this?" Kiba called out to Tsume. Kurenai and her friend walked over to see what the kids were talking about. The children were looking at a butterfly that had wings starting with a pale green on top before moving down to a midnight blue on the tips at the bottom. Hana had stars in her eyes as if she thought the creature was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Naruto and Kiba, on the other hand, were just plain wondering what the heck the thing was.

The Inuzuka woman responded, "That, pup, is a butterfly. Funny thing is: I only know one person that uses this type in battle. Come on out, Shibi-kun!" By the end of her talking, she was faced in the direction of the woods. A figure made its way out of the tree covered area, revealing itself to be a man about Tsume's age holding a little child that looked to be around Kiba's and Naruto's age. The man wore a long pale coat that covered most of his body up, while the child wore a mesh shirt along with black pants. Both had spiky hair, much like Naruto's, except theirs was black. They also each had a pair of black sunglasses on, especially making the little kid look funny.

Naruto was a little wary of them._ They look weird_, he thought. Shibi raised his left arm, holding the child with his right, and stuck it out in front of him. The butterfly that was in front of the children flapped its wings to get off the ground, and then flew over to the new man. It landed on his hand before crawling back into his coat.

Naruto stared at the new guy in amazement. _That was so cool! _He now had a big grin on his face, and ignored the fact that just several minutes ago, he was nervous to even be around them.

Shibi walked over and greeted, "Good morning, Tsume-chan, Kurenai-san." It wasn't really morning anymore because it was almost noon, but no one really cared. Both older women nodded back. Shibi looked over the children who were in the sandbox and nodded. The only thing out of the ordinary to him was that the demon container was there. He'd seen Kiba and Hana at the park before, but never had he seen Naruto there.

Naruto noticed the man was looking at him weirdly, so his grin started to turn into a small smile. It was like the man was studying him for something, but what? He felt exactly like he did back at the Hokage Tower when that Uchiha was staring at him with the Sharingan. Why were people staring at him so much? Those thoughts went away when the man gave a faint smile and nodded before turning back to Kurenai and Tsume.

_With that damn brain of his, he's probably already figured out that I adopted Naruto_, Kurenai thought to herself. _That's probably why he was staring at Naruto for so long._

Shibi put the child he was holding down in the sandbox in between Kiba and Naruto. Hana, Kiba, and Naruto all introduced themselves to the newbie before they let him say anything. All the black haired kid said was 'Shino' in response. They nodded and started working on the sand castle once again.

Naruto got up and walked over to the parents after a few minutes of construction and asked, "How you do dat?" The question was directed at Shibi. The blonde was quite obviously asking about the butterfly incident only minutes prior to that moment.

"My clan has a special contract with insects," was the short response that came from Shibi. Kurenai and Tsume sighed. Almost all Aburame hardly talked at all. That had probably been one of the longest sentences they'd heard him say all year.

Naruto nodded and decided to pretend he understood when he was really thinking: _Huh?_ He had no clue what the bug man had just said. Why couldn't people talk to little kids in simpler terms? The blonde quickly went back to playing with the other three children to avoid anymore confusing answers from the Aburame.

"You think you could have made it anymore confusing for the poor kid?" Tsume chuckled. Shibi stared at her blankly. "You think he really understood that?" Shibi shook his head making Tsume chuckle a bit more.

"He'll understand it some day," Kurenai sighed again before switching the topic. "I guess you've figured out why Naruto's here, huh?" Shibi nodded. Kurenai smiled before they continued talking about what they had been up to lately.

This continued on for an hour or so when the two year olds started getting hungry for lunch. Almost everyone heard Naruto's stomach rumble and laughed as he blushed in embarrassment. The adults decided that they should probably go get some lunch since it was almost one in the afternoon.

"Where should we go to eat?" Tsume asked to no one in particular.

Hana thought the question was directed to her so she pumped a fist in the air and shouted out, "Ichiraku's!" When she stopped her little performance, she noticed everyone was starting at her and decided to join Naruto in the embarrassment club.

All of the adults nodded. Ichiraku's Ramen didn't make for the healthiest meal, but it was fine for lunch one day. Naruto didn't know what Ichiraku's was, but figured it had to be good if one of his new friends loved it so much, so he went with it.

Before they could get far from the park, Asuma appeared next to Kurenai, scaring the crap out of her. "Asuma-kun, don't do that!" she shouted, clearly angry.

"Heh, sorry, Kurenai-chan," he apologized, dodging a punch she sent at him. "I've finished my part of the _thing_. Your turn." She nodded and told the rest of the group that she'd be back later, and left Naruto is Asuma's care. The group then continued on their way to the restaurant.

Ichiraku's Ramen was a little stand that could hold just about ten people along the counter. It was started up about five years ago by a man named Teuchi just after his wife passed away from some illness. He started up the ramen stand with his daughter, Ayame, to help ease the pain a bit by meeting more people and cooking just to get their minds off of the topic.

The stand attracted many people because if you were in the vicinity, you could smell the delicious ramen a block away. People enjoyed going there because it provided them with a cheap lunch or supper, depending on the time of day they came at.

Teuchi always wished they could build an actual restaurant rather than just leaving it a stand because many people had to take their ramen to go for the fact that their were enough chairs to sit at. Sadly, he couldn't because he just never had enough money to.

On the bright side, he was glad to see that Ayame made some friends through this experience, especially that Inuzuka girl. Hana was just a few months older than Ayame, and came by to say hello all the time. They treated each other like sisters since neither had one. Teuchi was also happy when Tsume gave birth to her second child, Kiba. That kid was one of the wildest he'd ever met, just like his sister, although she was a bit calmer than him.

Speaking of which, he saw the two he was just thinking about come running around the corner in the direction of his shop. Only this time, they brought two friends.

"Hey, Teuchi-san! We're back!" called Hana as she dragged the three other kids behind her. "Where's Ayame-neechan?" Just as she said that, Ayame came out to ask her otou-san something before she spotted Hana.

"Hey, Hana-neechan!" she called back. "Kiba-niisan, who're your friends?" she asked the little boy when they reached the counter.

Kiba was about to respond, but Hana did it for him. "This is Shino-kun and Naruto-kun," she said pointing at each of them as she introduced them. Shino and Naruto said 'hi' while Kiba grunted, annoyed that his sister interrupted him.

"Hi! I'm Ayame! Nice to meet ya!" the girl behind the ramen counter grinned.

By now the parents had caught up with their kids. "Why don't you guys sit down, and then get to know each other?" Tsume suggested. All of the children nodded in agreement and found seats by each other. Shibi sat on the far left with Tsume on his right. Asuma sat on the other side of Tsume, right next to Naruto because he figured the blonde would need help with his chopsticks. Next to Naruto was Shino, followed by Kiba, then Hana.

Shino and Naruto looked at each other; Naruto gave a cheesy grin while Shino gave a small smile before they turned back forward to the counter.

When it was time to order their meals, Naruto went with something called 'miso ramen' because his Hana said it tasted really good. Everyone else ordered either beef or shrimp with the exception of Hana, who of course ordered miso. Teuchi nodded and said it would be ready in ten minutes or so. Ayame was about to go help make it, but her otou-san told her to stay and talk with Hana and her friends. Ayame nodded in thanks and turned towards her best friend. It wasn't long before they started talking about random 'girl things' as Kiba put it.

Naruto turned to the other two boys after the adults broke off into conversation and asked, "Wha's wamen taste wike?"

Kiba stared at him with disbelieving eyes. "Nevah had wamen? It's pwetty good. Hana-neechan wikes to come hewe a wot." Kiba gave a grin after his short explanation. Naruto nodded in response. Shino just listened, paying full attention, but never cutting in.

They continued talking in short sentences for a few minutes, every once in a while getting a word or two out of Shino, until their ramen came out.

"Lunch is ready," Ayame said happily before handing everyone their ramen.

Kiba and Shino broke their chopsticks and started eating slowly, leaving Naruto to just stare in wonderment. "How use these?" the little blonde asked, confused.

The Inuzuka boy looked over. "Nevah used shopshix befowe?" he asked. Kiba and Shino had learned from their parents how to use chopsticks only a few months prior. They couldn't eat with them too quickly, and they would have to set them up in their hands again every once in a while, but it was a start.

Naruto shook his head in response. Asuma was about to guide him through the process, but stopped when he saw Shino trying to teach his son.

Naruto caught on pretty quickly, and thanked the Aburame for helping him. The blonde was slightly surprised at how much Shino had talked while guiding him. It was probably the most he'd ever heard the two year old say in one sitting.

Asuma was amused by how quickly Naruto learned to use the sticks. _If the kid wants to become a ninja, I wonder how fast he'll learn_, the big man thought. Using chopsticks the right way wasn't the easiest thing to do, especially for someone so young, but Naruto did it.

When the meal was over, Naruto left the stand thinking that it was the best meal he'd ever had before. His mood was saddened a bit when Hana asked if they could see each other the next day. When Asuma told them that they probably wouldn't see him for at least four years, they all started to get sad, but brightened up a bit when Naruto said he would go to see them right when he got back from the trip.

After talking for another five minutes or so, Asuma spoke up. "I think it's time Naruto and I get going. We still have to pick up some storage scrolls for packing."

Naruto nodded. "Bye bye!" he called out to the other three children. They said their good byes which made Naruto grin. He now had three more people who he was friends with! Even though he wouldn't see them for half a decade, he knew they still cared about him! Including their parents it was two more!

Naruto was so excited that he almost forgot to keep up with Asuma. He realized how far behind he was and ran to catch up.

After ten minutes of walking, Asuma veered off in the direction of a weapon shop. Naruto looked confused and glanced up at his otou-san. When they walked in Naruto asked, "Why hewe?" He looked over all of the point weapons that hanged from the walls, some were encased in glass. They looked so cool!

"Weapon shops don't only sell weapons. They also sell scrolls and battle gear," Asuma responded and glanced down at the blonde. He smiled a bit at the kid's look of absolute wonderment.

He then motioned for Naruto to follow him to the back side of the shop. The blonde followed obediently. Naruto looked at all of the weapons and random gear that was on racks as they passed through the shop, his grin growing wider with each passing artifact.

It took Asuma several minutes to find the right storage scroll, but he managed. The big man picked out five scrolls that could hold many items each. It all depended on the size and how much chakra it took to put the items in the scrolls.

Naruto once again followed his otou-san up to the front desk and waited for the cashier to ring up the items. During his wait, he noticed a girl that looked to be about a year or so older than him come running through the store. She had chocolate brown hair that matched her eyes perfectly. Her hair was pulled up into two small buns near the top of her head. She wore a light pink t-shirt along with dark blue pants, making her look like a very cute three year old girl.

She stopped in front of Naruto and smiled. "Hi! I'm Tenten! Who are you?" she asked with energy rivaling Hana's.

"I Nawuto!" the little whiskered boy announced happily, feeling a little more brave in front of new people since he had made three new friends in only a couple of hours.

The two broke off into a little conversation as the adults watched, mildly amused.

"That's by daughter, Tenten. She's a bit... enthusiastic... when it comes to meeting new people her age," the cashier said with a small smile on his face as he continued ringing up the items.

"Heh. I think Naruto will be a bit more active in years to come. He's still nervous around people he doesn't know because of his... problem. I think he's coming out of his shell a bit more, though," Asuma said while paying for the scrolls.

"That's good. So, I guess I'll be seeing you in a few years, huh?" Asuma nodded in response. "At least you're not leaving for good. I'd go out of business without you, Kurenai, and the others around."

"Yeah. Kurenai's coming with me, but Kakashi's sticking around. That's for sure. I doubt the council would let him leave ANBU with his record for a while to come," Asuma chuckled at the last part as the cashier bagged up his items.

"Yeah, kid's only seventeen. I still think he joined ANBU too early," the man muttered the last part before handing Asuma his items.

"Well, you know that ninja can only live for so long. I'm surprised the guy's not dead yet from some of the missions he's taken on," the dark haired man said. The cashier gave a nod in response.

"Off you go. I doubt Kurenai-san will wait for you." Asuma chuckled before collecting his son from Tenten, making sure that he said good bye.

Once they were out the door, Kurenai appeared in a swirl of leaves. Only, she didn't scare the shit out of Asuma like he did to her.

"Back," she muttered, annoyed that she missed her chance to get her boyfriend back.

Asuma nodded. "Well, we still have some hours to kill."

"Why don't we go visit Atsui and his wife, Hitomi?" Kurenai suggested. "I bet they'd love Naru-chan."

Asuma grunted. He and his brother weren't on very close terms with each other, somewhat like him and his otou-san. Whenever they brought up Asuma joining the Twelve Guardians, Atsui would side with Sarutobi and he would be left with no support. At least his new wife seemed to like Asuma, so it made visits with his brother more bearable. Maybe having Naruto there would change their minds a bit.

"Fine."

Kurenai was about to pick up Naruto when the blonde pointed at Asuma's head.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" the big man asked, confused.

The little kid then clarified, "Up."

Asuma understood and nodded. He reached down and picked up Naruto, and then placed him on his shoulders, letting the blonde hang onto his black hair while they walked towards his brother's house. Kurenai couldn't resist smiling at the otou-san and son moment. Naruto looked so cute when riding on his otou-san's shoulders!

The trio made their way through the crowded streets, constantly ignoring the hateful glares that were sent their ways every block or so until they finally made it to Atsui's house. Kurenai walked up to the door and knocked somewhat loudly.

A teenager of about sixteen or so came to the door. His eyes and hair were the same color as Asuma's, but he had a lighter skin color. He kept his hair in a mop of spikiness on the top of his head, unlike Asuma's, whose was a little less wild. For clothing, he wore a black sweatshirt and sweatpants. He looked like he was about to leave for a mission, and just didn't put on his Chuunin vest yet.

Asuma still couldn't believe how young his brother was, yet already married. He and Hitomi had been going out since they were twelve and had just recently gotten married. Yes, the normal youngest age for getting married was eighteen... for civilians, but for ninja, it was sixteen since it was not unheard of for young shinobi and kunoichi to die on the battlefield. Atsui and Hitomi had been married as soon as Hitomi turned sixteen only a few months prior, so they were basically newlyweds.

"Hey aniki, Kurenai-chan," Atsui nodded in their direction. The young man noticed the yellow ball of fluff on top of Asuma's head and asked, "Who's he?"

"This is Naruto, otouto," Asuma responded in a stiff voice. Atsui gave a confused look.

Kurenai nodded and smiled. "We just came by to let Naruto meet his new oji-san and oba-san."

Atsui's eyes widened a bit. He'd been alive when the Kyuubi was sealed inside a blonde infant, but never before had he thought that very child would end up in their family. This was going to take some getting used to.

Atsui broke out of his thoughts and nodded before he opened the door up more to allow the trio entrance. He closed the door lightly when everyone was in and called, "'Tomi-chan!"

"Yes?" was the muffled response from the second floor.

"Come on down!" Atsui called back.

After waiting for just under a minute, they heard the stairs creak a bit as a young woman of sixteen made her way down. She was a bit shorter than Kurenai and had light brown hair that was pulled back into a tight ponytail which matched her bright green eyes perfectly. She wore a tight black tank top that showed off her figure nicely along with a pair of light grey sweatpants.

Hitomi was a Chuunin of Konoha like her husband, but was enjoying a nice day off. The odd thing about her outfit was that she had a katana strapped onto her back. It wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short. This was one of the reasons Asuma liked her. She provided him with a nice sparring partner whenever they came by to visit. His brass knuckles versus her katana.

She wasn't half bad with it, either. The main reason behind that was she was from the Gekkou clan. Gekkou Hitomi was her maiden name. She was the cousin of Gekkou Hayate, who had been praised as one of the best swordsmen in Konoha at the age of only twelve. Asuma was broken out of his thoughts when she spoke.

"What is it, Atsui-kun?" she asked in a sweet voice before she saw their guests. "Oh! Hi Kurenai-chan, Asuma-kun." Unlike her husband, she totally passed up Naruto. "What are you guys doing here?"

Atsui explained once more why his brother and his girlfriend stopped by, and received a nod from Hitomi.

"Sorry, Naruto-san, I didn't see you up there," Atsui's wife chuckled to herself. The little blonde grinned at the new woman. "My name it Hitomi, but all of my friends call me 'Tomi-chan."

"Hi 'Tomi-chan!" Naruto called, trying her name out. Kurenai and Hitomi gave a slight chuckle while the two men smiled.

"Yes, well it's nice to meet you, too," the green eyed woman responded. The four adults broke off into a conversation about what they had been doing the past few weeks.

During the conversation, Asuma put Naruto down, and didn't even notice it when Naruto ran off to the kitchen. They continued talking until they heard a loud 'ARF!!' from the other room.

Everyone ran to the kitchen to see what was going on, and burst out laughing at the sight. In front of them was a struggling mop of blonde trying to get a ferocious beast off of himself.

That is, if you considered a ferocious beast to be a less than one foot high puppy.

Naruto had run into the kitchen and noticed something wiggling over in the corner. It turned out to be a white puppy who was rattling its cage, trying to see who had come to the door only minutes prior. Naruto, being the oh-so-clever child that he was, tried to help it out of its container... only to get tackled by it. The dog had made a loud 'ARF!' before it jumped on the blonde and started licking him to death.

"'Elp!!" the little blonde shouted with his arms flailing about, trying to get the puppy off him.

Hitomi regained her composure first. "Yuki-chan, get off of Naruto," she chuckled out. The dog obeyed and leapt off of the blonde mess, and then ran over to her owner. "Good girl," Hitomi said while petting the dog on the head.

"You okay, Naruto?" asked Asuma as he walked over to his son. Naruto nodded slightly before getting up as if nothing had happened. Kurenai and Atsui came over, still chuckling a bit.

When the laughing dwindled down, the group decided to go outside and enjoy the peaceful afternoon before sunset. They brought Yuki out so Naruto could try to play with her once more without getting 'assaulted,' as he put it.

The grown-ups sat down at a small table and started talking with each other again as a small breeze swept over the lawn. Naruto found a Frisbee lying in the grass, and decided to try playing with the dog.

He ended up chucking the thing at the ground while Yuki stared at him as if he had grown a second head. If she had any thoughts going, it would probably be: _Who doesn't know how to throw a Frisbee?_

Atsui saw this and decided to help his new nephew learn how to throw the toy. He got up and walked across the yard and up to Naruto, who stared at him.

"How do dis?" the blue eyed boy questioned. He held the disk up to his oji-san for help.

Atsui took the Frisbee and began to teach Naruto the proper way to throw. All of the others watched for a few minutes before they continued talking again.

Before anyone knew it, the time was almost six o'clock, and the sun was beginning to set. Asuma and Kurenai decided that it was time to go back to their apartment to do the _thing_. Naruto was a bit sad when his parents said they had to go, and that they wouldn't see each other for at least another four years or so.

Atsui and Hitomi tried to make him feel better, but failed miserably.

"Well, see ya later, otouto, Hitomi-chan," Asuma called out as he waved to the duo at the front door.

"Hai... just make sure you write! Send your letters with your report to otou-san!" Atsui called back to his older brother. "And it was nice meeting you, Naruto."

Said blonde gave a big grin to hide his sadness, which his oji-san returned.

"We'll miss you three! Travel safely!" Hitomi said, somewhat loudly so the rest could hear. The trio nodded and waved before they continued down the road back home.

Atsui's wife sighed. "I'm gonna miss that blonde."

Her husband nodded. "Maybe when he comes back, he'll have a new cousin."

Hitomi knew where this was going. "Slow down. I'd like to remain a ninja for a few more years." She winked at him. Oh yes indeed, Naruto would have a new cousin when he returned, though he wouldn't have a three year lead on him. More like four or five.

The small family made their way through the village of Konoha, glancing at the random stores they passed every once in a while. All was quiet until Naruto spoke a thought that had been bugging him all day.

"Wha's the ting you was tawking abow eawier?" the blonde asked as he remembered his parents mentioning some _thing _all day.

"You'll find out soon enough," Kurenai said in response. Her son gave her a confused look before they continued on their way once more.

"Hey, before we go home, why don't we go watch the sunset?" Asuma suggested. Since it was fall the sun had been setting earlier and earlier with each passing day.

Kurenai nodded. "Why don't we watch it from on top of the Hokage Monument?"

"Sounds great."

Naruto knew what the Hokage Monument and what a sunset were. That sounded like a perfect idea! He kept his thoughts to himself as they changed course a bit to head in the direction of the monument.

When they reached the top, they sat under a tree that was in between Sandaime's and Yondaime's head and looked forward. Watching the sun set over the border of Konoha was one of the most beautiful sights in the whole village, especially when watched from atop the Hokage Monument. The colors going from yellow, to orange, to red, and finally to purple and blue. It was the perfect combination and made for a wonderful evening event.

They sat there and enjoyed the view for almost half an hour before the sky turned dark blue and they chose to go home. _That was one of the prettiest things I've ever seen! _Naruto thought to himself. It almost seemed impossible for something to be that beautiful to him. _I never knew anything could look like that! That was just... amazing!_

It took them several minutes to get back to their apartment, but when they got inside, Naruto saw a sight that he'd never forget.

The entire living room had random decorations in it, along with several balloons here and there. Over the walkway to the kitchen was a sign that read 'Happy Birthday Naruto!' Asuma set Naruto down so he could check out what was in the kitchen. The blonde happily ran in and found another jumble of balloons that all had a '2' or 'Happy Birthday' written on them. On the table were three plates. In the center of the three was a small birthday cake with two unlit candles on it. The cake read 'Happy Birthday,' much like several of the balloons.

Naruto couldn't hold it any longer. A few happy, silent tears made their way down his face. No one had ever been this nice to him before. He ran back to his otou-san and okaa-san, which were now standing in the kitchen doorway with small smiles on their faces. He gave them a big hug before Kurenai picked up Naruto.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto," she said. Asuma did the same and ruffled his hair. "We know it's a day late, but we're still going to celebrate it," Kurenai clarified. The blonde boy nodded and thanked them both.

"Well, why don't we start eating since we missed supper," Asuma said, getting somewhat hungry.

The red eyed woman rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and muttered, "Fine." She walked with Naruto in her arms over to the table, and sat him down in a chair before taking a seat of her own. Asuma sat on the other side of the table, across from them. Kurenai lit the candles and put out the match only a few seconds later.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Naru(-chan/to). Happy birthday to you!" Asuma and Kurenai both sang to the blonde. Naruto made a wish that they would always be a happy family and blew them out. Both of his parents grinned again before the red eyed woman got up to go get a knife to cut the cake.

When she returned, Kurenai cut three normal sized pieces – one for each of them. The red eyed woman put the knife in the sink for washing later, and then sat back down with her boyfriend and son. Kurenai, being the protective person that she was, cut up Naruto's piece for him so he wouldn't get hurt, once again.

Naruto said nothing, and started to eat as soon as she was done. The cake was chocolate flavored with fudge frosting, and it was the _best _thing Naruto had ever had in his life. The young blonde felt like he was in heaven with each bite he ate. The dessert was so tasty! And good! And delicious! And yummy! And great... the list goes on. So this is what his parents had been doing all day when each of them left. They'd been planning a small party for his second birthday. No wonder they didn't want to tell him what they'd been doing, it would've ruined the surprise.

It took the trio fifteen minutes to finish eating their pieces of cake... or more like five for Naruto, he inhaled his and waited patiently for the rest to finish. When they were done, Asuma took the plates and set them in the sink to wash later (where the knife went), and then walked over to a closet. He pulled out two bags that each had a ribbon on them before he returned to the table.

"Wha those?" asked Naruto, staring at the bags his otou-san had just set on the table in confusion.

"Their presents for you, Naru-chan," Kurenai answered for her boyfriend.

"Fow me?" His okaa-san nodded. "Tankoo!"

Asuma explained that they didn't have time to get any birthday cards, but the blonde said that it was fine, and that he was just happy to get any presents at all. He opened the first one, which was from his mom. The tag read: 'To: Naru-chan, From: Okaa-san,' so the blonde opened it.

What he pulled out made both him and Asuma grin. It was a red fox stuffed animal. It had pointy, black ears, and a white stomach with a white tipped tail. Naruto immediately hugged it close to his face and thanked his okaa-san a lot.

"You're welcome, Naru-chan. I'm glad you like it," Kurenai chuckled. "Why don't you open Asuma's gift?"

The blonde nodded and turned in the direction of his otou-san's gift. He rapidly untied the ribbon and pulled out two pieces of metal. It wasn't just any metal. The slabs of metal were shaped to look like his otou-san's trench knives. They had dulled ends so they couldn't cut anything unless a lot of force was used on them.

Asuma chuckled at the blonde's look of awe. He could tell Naruto would love those things. "There's one more thing in there," the whiskered boy's otou-san said.

Naruto nodded and quickly dug in the bag to see what Asuma was talking about. He found a book and pulled it out. It read: 'A Beginner's Guide to Kenjutsu.'

"Kenjutsu are sword techniques," Asuma clarified, answering the unspoken question that was on the blonde's mind. "It's got a section for brass knuckles. I also thought it would help if you do decide to become a ninja, or swordsman for that matter," Naruto's otou-san continued with a grin.

Kurenai was annoyed that her boyfriend got their son weapons as a birthday present... for a TWO year old, but calmed down when she saw the look on Naruto's face. She was just glad that he was happy with the presents they got him.

"Tanks okaa-san, otou-san," said the blonde as he gathered his presents.

"No problem, Naruto," said Asuma.

"It's getting kind of late," Kurenai mumbled with a yawn, which made the other two yawn as well. "I think it's time we go to bed."

The others nodded in agreement. Asuma picked up Naruto and brought him in the bedroom to change into something more comfortable. Kurenai took the bathroom.

Within ten minutes, they were all in their pajamas and ready for bed. They got into the same position that they had been in the night before and dosed off by the time the clock hit ten.

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **Never. Again. Over 12,000 words without A/N. Jeez.

That was sort of an in between chapter. I know it was long, but I wanted Naruto to meet some people and whatnot before he left. Sorry if it felt rushed at some points.

I just realized that the two names I used in the first two chapters actually meant something. O.o Anya means 'dark night.' Ironic, huh? She was killed on a dark night. Tsuno means 'horn.' I have no clue what that would have to do with anything, so forget that.

Here's a translation guide to all of the Japanese words used in this chapter. Sorry if I miss some!

Ifuku: clothes  
Ojii-san: grandfather (in the manga, Naruto insults Sandaime by calling him 'jiji,' which means old man)  
Oji-san: uncle  
Oba-san: aunt (obaa-san is grandmother, which is what Naruto calls Tsunade)  
Yuki: snow  
Atsui: hot (warm)  
Hitomi: has no meaning that I'm aware of  
Aniki: big brother  
Otouto: little brother (can be written 'ototo')  
Niisan: brother  
Neechan: sister  
Sensei: teacher (a few others, but not required here)

On a side note: sorry for not updating sooner. Summer homework and other events are taking away from my writing time, so I can't do as much. I hope the extended chapter makes up for the lateness. Just don't expect all chapters to be this long.

Oh, and yes, Hana will be a bit more involved in this story than in the manga. Don't worry; it won't be Naru x Hana. It'll be more of a brother-sister relationship if anything. Don't wanna ruin it, though.

See ya next time!

Zashire


	4. Fishy Memories

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

Hiking Off Trail

Chapter 4: Fishy Memories

By: Zashire

Naruto kicked a pebble as he and his family walked down the path that led to and from Konoha. They had only been walking for a couple of hours and he was already bored, and since it was only mid afternoon, they still had twice as many hours to go.

That morning they had woken up at around six – well, Asuma and Kurenai had. They decided to let Naruto sleep longer while they finished packing everything up into small backpacks and storage scrolls. Camping gear, clothes, and food went into the storage scrolls, while some spare kunai and shuriken went into the backpacks – along with several water bottles.

When they had completed their jobs, both checked to make sure all of their ninja gear was in place. It was almost nine o'clock, so they figured Naruto had gotten enough sleep. Kurenai walked back into the bedroom and shook Naruto gently to wake him up.

The little blonde cracked his eyes open and groggily sat up with his okaa-san's help. She picked him up off the bed and changed him into a new set of clothes before packing his pajamas away. Asuma then added all of the storage scrolls to his and Kurenai's backpacks before putting his on and giving his girlfriend hers.

The trio ate a small breakfast from extras they kept in the fridge before making their way over to Sarutobi's to say good bye. Kurenai talked to Asuma's otou-san for an hour or so about random things while Asuma was forced to play with Naruto and his new fox stuffed animal during that time.

When eleven thirty rolled around, they decided it was time to leave. Sarutobi bid them farewell and let them go on their way. And now, here they were, three hours into their journey, with a bored to death blonde boy.

Naruto didn't mind walking, but if there was one thing he wasn't, it was patient. He was used to things happening here and now rather than there and later because that was how his short life had gone so far. It was cool to see the nature that surrounded Konoha, yes, but when it was the same, repetitive scenery over and over again, it became boring. He kicked the rock one last time before looking up at his parents.

"Twee flying?" the little blonde asked. Kurenai looked down in the direction of the voice.

"Last time, you wanted us to stop because you were scared, remember?" the red eyed kunoichi reminded her son.

Naruto looked embarrassed for a moment. When they first left the village, the trio had taken to the trees by jumping from one to the other with chakra empowered legs, or as the blonde put it, tree flying. That's what it looked like to him, anyways. He had gotten easily scared when his parents took him through that and asked to stop. Kurenai and Asuma understood and went for walking instead, even though it was a million times slower than tree jumping. Now, since Naruto was getting bored, he thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it sped them up a bit.

"Could we?" the whiskered boy asked again. It was Asuma's turn to speak up.

"Let's try and get more than thirty feet, okay?" he suggested with a small grin, making Naruto flush in embarrassment once again. The blonde nodded so they repeated the process from earlier and went into the trees again.

**xxx**

The sun had lowered a fair amount by the time the trio made it to a clearing in the large forest. They landed on the ground, the two adults gasped for air because of how long they had traveled for at such a fast pace. The black haired man tried to set his blonde son down on the grass, but he wouldn't budge. The little boy still felt like they were 'flying' through the trees, and was still slightly scared because of it.

"Naruto, please let go," Asuma said once he regained a proper breathing rate. The blonde in turn slowly nodded and let go carefully as if he thought he might fall if he did it too fast. He plopped down on the ground and waited for his okaa-san to catch her breath.

Kurenai stood up a bit straighter when she felt her lungs go back to normal and nodded. Both of the blonde's parents took off their backpacks and dug in them for several storage scrolls. Kurenai had all of the food in hers while Asuma had all of the equipment for camping in his. The black haired man pulled out one scroll when he found it and unrolled it soon after.

Kurenai was still digging for the food scroll when Naruto walked over to see what his otou-san was doing. The blonde watched as Asuma went through a few hand signs before biting his thumb, making it bleed. The little boy's eyes went wide as he moved in to try and help his otou-san, but stopped when he saw Asuma rub his thumb along the scroll, smearing it with his blood. Naruto stared in wonder and backed off when he heard a _poof!_

He tripped and fell on his butt. When he looked back, the smoke had cleared and there in front of him was a large bag that contained a tent. The blonde was amazed by the display, and Asuma noticed this.

"It's a storage scroll that can be used for putting large things in small places. If you need them, you summon them," the big man explained to his son. Naruto grinned in return. Sure, he didn't one hundred percent understand the explanation, but he got the basic idea, so he covered up his confusion with a skull-splitting smile. Asuma chuckled lightly.

Kurenai sighed as she finally found the scroll she was looking for. She had no clue how such a small pack could contain such an open area like that. The red eyed woman looked over at Asuma and saw that he had the tent out already. _Damn... Why does he get the small, accessible backpack_, she huffed. Kurenai walked over to the others and sat down.

Asuma saw her and asked, "What are we going to eat tonight?" He heard Naruto's stomach rumble quite loudly at the mention of food and the two adults shared a laugh at the blonde's expense. They had forgotten to eat lunch earlier, so they couldn't blame him.

Kurenai settled down. "Why don't we set up the tent? As for food, remember that river we saw about five minutes back? You and Naru-chan can go catch some fish while I start a fire to cook them." Her boyfriend nodded. Naruto was a little disturbed at the thought of killing defenseless animals for food, but went along with it.

Asuma picked up the bag and opened it to slide the tent out. He grabbed all of the tools necessary for setting up a tent and got to work with Kurenai while Naruto sat off to the side, watching. The blonde was amazed at how something that came out of such a small scroll could make a tent big enough to fit all three of them. It was so cool!

They finished after fifteen minutes of a few failed attempts. Asuma stood up and told his girlfriend that they would be back after they caught a decent amount of fish. He walked over and picked up Naruto rather than letting him walk so they could jump through the trees to make it faster. The blonde didn't have any complaints, he only felt a bit scared, but other than that, he was fine. After a day of traveling by trees, you get used to it.

Naruto occupied himself for the five minutes it took them to get there by counting how many trees they passed. He lost count somewhere after thirty and stared ahead for the rest of the short journey. Asuma gave a small grin when he saw Naruto counting the trees. It looked funny, even though he was only two.

Asuma broke out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of running water off in the distance. He nudged his son and told him they were almost there. Naruto smiled as he tried to ignore the thought of killing animals once more.

They landed by the stream that ran through the greenery. It was a small, slow moving body of water that wasn't very wide. From the looks of it, it wasn't very deep either. The blonde then thought of something to ask his otou-san.

"How catch fish?" Naruto asked in a short sentence. He could see the fish moving through the water, but he had no clue how to get at them.

Asuma looked down at the boy and smiled mischievously. "How would you like to get wet?" Naruto stared at his otou-san in confusion. "The water is only a couple inches deep. If you want to get in and scare the fish, I can pin them to that tree over there with a kunai," he finished explaining as he pulled a pointy weapon out of his pouch.

Naruto smiled. This would be fun! The water wasn't too deep. Even if he slipped or something, Asuma would help him. He was at least hoping that the last part was true. The blonde pulled off his shoes, shirt, shorts, and underwear, leaving himself butt-naked. Asuma almost started to crack up at his eagerness to get in the water.

"Ready?" the man asked the blonde. His response was a nod. Naruto jumped into the stream and started splashing around as much as he could. A fish then popped out of the water because it was scared of the sudden movements in the water. Asuma launched the kunai he had been holding, and let it whirl right into the fish. The weapon lodged itself in the animal, and then continued on its path towards the tree. It pierced the wood and stuck itself there, letting the weapon hold the fish in the air. The fish stopped squirming, which confirmed that it had died.

Naruto stared at the motionless animal as fear welled up inside him. Just by looking at the dead being reminded him of two days before when the mob was attacking him. He could remember the feeling of kunai landing inside his body. It hurt like hell. The only difference here was that the fish died, he didn't.

The blonde didn't even notice the tears that started to come down his face at the memory. When he realized he was crying, he wiped his face with his hands so his otou-san wouldn't see. Too late.

Before he knew it, a hand had grabbed his arm and pulled him to the shore. He opened his eyes and found himself in his otou-san's arms. He looked up at Asuma.

"You okay?" the black haired man asked. Naruto nodded slowly. "Sorry about that. You were probably remembering a few days ago. I shouldn't have had you do that."

The blonde shot his head up and responded, "Me wanted to do it. Not you fault." He couldn't blame his otou-san for what he actually wanted to do. Naruto thought that he wouldn't mind scaring the fish because he wouldn't _actually _be killing them. He was wrong, and it was his fault.

"Still, I suggested it," Asuma said, a bit angry with himself for overlooking that fact. "Why don't you go dry off in the grass while I finish up? I'll help you get your clothes back on once I'm done, alright?"

Naruto nodded and hopped off of his otou-san's lap. He ran over to a patch of grass that still had sun on it and lied down – facing the opposite direction so he wouldn't have to watch the fish die anymore.

Asuma glanced back at his son and smiled a bit. Now that he thought about it, the blonde had taken the death of the animal better than most two year olds probably would have. His son definitely seemed to value the life of all living creatures – that was a good thing.

He brought himself back to the matter at hand and slipped off his shoes. Asuma put the blue sandals aside and then unwrapped the white tape from his legs. He pulled his pants up a few inches so they wouldn't get wet, and then walked in. He felt the water brush against his legs as he waded to the center. It wasn't too cold.

He reached down a bit and pulled out several kunai from his pouch. He would have to be quick about this since he didn't have anyone to scare the fish now aside from himself. Asuma sighed and started to swirl his feet around in the water. A few fish leapt up and he stabbed them while holding the kunai. When he had caught two fish and made sure they were dead, he threw the kunai over to the shore by the first one so his hands would be free to catch more.

Asuma repeated the process several more times until he had three fish for each of them. _Plenty_, he thought to himself. He waded out of the water to where he had thrown the fish and stopped. _Aw, shit... I forgot to bring something to put them in_, he cursed at his stupidity. He was about to give up when he remembered that he had a storage scroll in his pouch. _YES!! I don't even remember why I put it there, but if it works, then what the hell._

After mentally cheering to himself, the big man pulled out the said scroll from the pouch on the back side of his waist. He unrolled it and placed the fish on the center, pulling each kunai out in the process. Asuma then ran through several hand seals like earlier and bit his thumb once more before he wiped it on the side of the scroll. The nine fish instantly disappeared with a puff of smoke. He then rolled the scroll up and placed it back in the pouch as if nothing had happened.

The black haired man picked up the kunai he had used to kill the fish and hopped over to the stream again, only this time he used the water to wash off the weapons rather than kill animals. He ran his fingers along the flat sides of the kunai to get any guts and whatnot off of it, careful to not cut himself by accidentally touching a sharp side.

Once he was satisfied with his clean up job, he put the kunai back into his pouch. Asuma stood up and waded through the stream to get back to his shoes and his son. The water had become somewhat cold now that the sun had started hiding behind trees in the process of setting.

_Jeez, how long have we been here?_ the man mentally asked himself. He climbed out of the water and looked over to where Naruto was. He remembered the blonde sitting in a warm spot made by the sun, but now it was gone. In its place was a naked blonde boy that looked like he had fallen asleep. The little kid shivered in his sleep because the cold night air had moved in.

Asuma mentally slapped himself for not noticing sooner. He ran over to the blonde's pile of clothes and picked them up before heading towards the blonde himself. The black haired man moved Naruto into a sitting position where his back leaned against him so he could get the boy's shirt on easily. After that, he moved the boy once more into a standing position where his head leaned on the bigger man's shoulder so he could use his hands to move the kid's legs into his underwear and pants.

When he finished the main parts of getting his son dressed, he moved him back into a sitting position, where his back leaned against a nearby rock. Asuma then slipped on the blonde's blue sandals, which matched his own. The dark haired man smiled gently as his son's shivering slowed down a bit. He reached down and lifted the whiskered boy into his arms, and then stood up to walk back over to his own shoes.

Asuma sat down and set Naruto on the ground beside him while he wrapped up his own legs once more. When he finished that, he slipped his ninja sandals on, which took less than half the time it did for the white tape, and lifted the blonde up again.

He felt the blonde snuggle into his shoulder for warmth and smiled again. This would be one hell of an adventure for all of them, and he was glad he had some people to go on it with. The black haired man ruffled his son's hair gently and then took to the trees to go back to Kurenai. He'd be lucky if she didn't want to kill him for taking so long. _Oh well_, he thought. If he didn't go back, he would just be putting off the inevitable.

**xxx**

A black haired kunoichi sighed as she stared into the fire that she had set up over an hour ago. _Where are they? _she asked in her mind. While they were gone she had set up a few cooking items around the fire. Hell, she even had time to set up everyone's sleeping bags and pillows. For the past half hour or so, she had just been staring into the flames that burned brightly in front of her.

She wasn't worried about them. Too much. Okay, maybe a little. She just wanted to know what had held them up for so long. Maybe they couldn't find the pond? Or maybe there weren't many fish? The kunoichi could only guess.

She sighed once more and thought about other matters, such as how far they had made it in the process of going to the Fire Temple. The red eyed woman had thought it would take them close to a week to get there because she hadn't expected Naruto to want to 'fly through the trees' as he put it. At the rate they were going, they could be there by the end of tomorrow if they put a hell of a lot more effort into it.

She smiled at that. Sure, they wouldn't continue Asuma's training until he was eighteen, but that still didn't mean they couldn't arrive early and just get used to the place. Maybe Naruto would meet some people that would be his friends? It probably wouldn't be until later, but people wouldn't hate him like they did in Konoha.

That thought led to another. How would the people in the village treat him when they got back? They would still shoot him death glares, but hopefully the number of attacks on his life would dwindle down. Yes, there had been a few so far, but they Kyuubi attack had happened only two years ago. Maybe in time, people would calm down. And then her son would be accepted by some people, at least. Who knows what the future could bring? She would just have to wait and find out the answer to that question herself. All in due time, all in due time.

_Snap!_

Her head shot up and she brought out a kunai in case of an attack. Before she could so anymore, a dark haired man that held a blonde boy landed in front of her.

He smiled. "Hey, Kurenai-chan, sorry we're late," the dark haired man said with a guilty chuckle.

If it weren't for Naruto, she probably would have thrown the damn kunai. "What took you so long?" she asked in an annoyed voice.

Asuma handed their son over to Kurenai who took him gently in her arms. The dark haired man then pulled out the scroll which held the fish, and unsealed it. He then proceeded to explain to his girlfriend what happened, from how he had Naruto get into the water to scare the fish, up until the point where he was ready to take him back to the campsite.

Kurenai nodded. She probably would have done the same thing with Naruto, and wouldn't have thought a thing about it. The red eyed woman felt bad about the fact that he was reminded of the mob attack when her boyfriend pinned the fish, but was glad when he took over the blonde's position so he wouldn't have to witness the deaths anymore.

The black haired kunoichi handed Naruto back to his otou-san and started to cook the fish. She told Asuma that it would probably take close to an hour to finish. He nodded and went inside the tent with Naruto to let the boy get some rest from the long day of traveling – even though he wasn't the one running, he helped catch the first fish. Asuma placed his son down on the farthest sleeping bag because it was the smallest. That, and it had a fox stuffed animal on the pillow.

The dark haired man gave a small smile as the blonde snuggled up to the toy happily. He'd probably wake up to the smell of supper. If he didn't, someone would come and get him. Asuma playfully ruffled the blonde's hair before crawling out and over to Kurenai.

He sat down behind her with legs around her so she was almost sitting on his lap. She smiled as he played with her hair by twisting it around a few fingers. His head was on her left shoulder and she could feel his breathe on her neck.

"How are you doing?" she asked him while she continued to tend to the fish every so often.

"Fine. How about you?" he asked in response as he lifted his head off of her shoulder.

"Same. I'd be better if you gave me one of your backrubs," she suggested. She knew he complied when she felt him stop playing with her hair. He gently massaged her shoulders and back while they continued their talk, not about anything in particular.

**xxx**

An hour passed, and the sun had fully gone down as darkness took over the sky. At the little campsite, a certain blonde boy felt his nose twitch.

_Something smells yummy_, he thought to himself. He decided to go check it out and opened his eyes. He found that he was in a tent and held his fox toy in his arm. _When did I get here? _he mused quietly. The last thing he remembered was being at the stream. _Oh yeah! I fell asleep!_ The blonde then crawled out of the sleeping bag, still holding his fox, and made his way to the tent's entrance.

Asuma had almost fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around Kurenai's waist when he heard some ruffling that came from behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw a little blonde come out of the opening in the tent. Naruto brought his fox and made it over to where his parents were seated.

Kurenai was still fully awake. "Hey, Naru-chan. Smell the food?" she asked with a grin.

Naruto gave a nod and matched her grin easily. "Foxie-chan smell it too!" he exclaimed as he made up a name for his animal on the spot.

Asuma smiled from behind his girlfriend, but couldn't think of anything to say, so he stayed quiet.

Within five minutes, the meal was prepared, so they sat down around the camp fire and ate quietly. Every once in a while, someone would strike up a conversation, but they all felt too tired to do much of anything else.

When they finished, Kurenai sealed the dirty dishes into a storage scroll to wash in the morning. She then found Naruto's pajamas that she had packed without a scroll because he would be wearing them far more often than anyone else while on the road. She changed Naruto into sleeping wear and tucked him in. Asuma and Kurenai both preferred to wear their ninja clothes for the fact that they were used to sleeping in it while on missions.

"If we leave early tomorrow and manage to tree jump at a pretty face pace, we could be there by nightfall, or the morning after that," Kurenai finally spoke the thoughts she had earlier.

Naruto was amazed while Asuma nodded. "It's worth a shot. G'night."

Everyone said good night and fell asleep soon afterwards.

**xxx**

The sun rose over the hills at around six o'clock in the morning the next day, which woke the trio that was camping up. Asuma yawned somewhat loudly and got out of bed to help pack up his sleeping bag and the tent. Kurenai sat up after another couple of minutes and did the same. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't budge other than opening his eyes.

The red eyed woman nudged him with her hand and heard a light groan as the mop of blonde hair got up slowly. She chuckled and went to get him a change of clothes to wear for the day. While she was gone, Naruto crawled out of bed and dragged his pillow over to his otou-san, who was by the entrance, to help pack it up. He had no clue how to roll up the sleeping bags, so he ignored that. One of his parents would help him do it.

Asuma took the pillow from his son and ruffled his hair for the third time in two days. Naruto had a clueless look on his face before he broke out into a wide grin. The dark haired man smiled back as Kurenai crawled back over to the two. She then changed the blonde into his pale green t-shirt with black shorts and slipped his blue ninja sandals on.

The red eyed woman then packed away his pajamas in her backpack for later usage. She helped Asuma roll up the sleeping bags and then he packed them away in a storage scroll for the next night if need be. Everyone moved outside the tent so the two adults could collapse it to put it in the scroll.

When they finished, Kurenai summoned a few pieces of fruit from one of her scrolls to eat for breakfast. She rolled up the scroll and put it away, and then handed Naruto and Asuma one apple each. It was small, but it would do. She then started to munch on one herself.

They finished after five minutes, every now and then talking about what they wanted to accomplish traveling wise that day. Both Chuunin decided that they would try and make it to the Fire Temple by eight or so, but that would only happen if they traveled at top speed. If they couldn't manage that, they would always have the next day.

Asuma nodded. "Let's head out," he said and put on his backpack. Kurenai nodded back and watched as the dark haired man picked up their son. They both jumped into the trees and began their long journey for the day.

**xxx**

Four figures leapt through the forest that surrounded their current home. They jumped from branch to branch in a wide circle because they had the 'best' duty of all: patrolling.

"Remind me again why we took on guard duty?" one of the beings asked in an annoyed voice. He was in the back of the group. They had formed a loose diamond while jumping and had taken the tail.

"You're going to have to do it _sometime_ if you ever want to reach Kankenkaku, Haritsu-san," replied the member who was jumping on the left to the back person, who was apparently named Haritsu.

"If you guys don't stay focused you'll never reach Kankenkaku, right Chiriku-sama?" asked the man off to the right to the person in front.

"Hai, but please, you need to remain quiet otherwise you won't hear anyth–" the man known as Chiriku started but was cut off.

_Snap!_

The four immediately dispersed and wandered towards the sound.

**xxx**

"I think we're almost there," a red eyed woman huffed as she and Asuma jumped through the trees. The trio had been traveling through the greenery since nine or so in the morning with minimal water and bathroom breaks. It was now around seven in the evening and both were tired beyond belief.

The child Asuma held in his arms was getting tired even though he wasn't doing much. The blonde had dosed off several times for the fact that he had nothing better to do. He tried to count the trees like the previous day, but failed miserably. He really needed to learn more numbers. That was for another day, though.

Both Chuunin felt a presence, more like several presences, somewhere close by in the trees. Kurenai stopped only moments before Asuma and looked around. The dark haired man joined his girlfriend and glanced from tree to tree for several seconds.

Before either of the ninja knew it, four dark figures had surrounded them. Two went for Kurenai, who had pulled out a kunai to defend herself. Asuma was about to help her get them away, but found himself encircled by another two. The red eyed woman felt something cold against her neck and saw a sword there ready to cut her head off at a moment's notice. She lowered her kunai and cursed how slow she had been. She should have focused on her surroundings a bit more.

Asuma, on the other hand, chucked out one of his trench knives as he saw a sword come up to his neck and pumped wind chakra into it. He couldn't bring out both because he was holding the blonde with his left arm, so he did the next best thing.

Naruto stared on in fear at the figures. He was just grasping what had happened because the whole process went by in less than a few seconds. One moment, his parents had stopped jumping, and then the next, each of looked like they were about to die. Asuma felt the grip on his Chuunin vest tighten a bit and figured Naruto was probably scared shitless. The dark haired man was ready to fight back because he had blocked the sword with his weapon, but stopped when he heard one of the figures voices.

"Stop!" called the figure that had gone for Kurenai but hadn't done anything with his sword to her. Everyone stared at the man. He walked over a few steps to see Asuma a bit more clearly. His eyes widened. "Asuma-san? We weren't expecting you for another five days!"

"Ch-Chiriku-sama!?" the male Chuunin responded, greatly surprised. He almost dropped his trench knife because he wasn't expecting to see him there.

Chiriku nodded. He motioned for his comrades to put there swords away, which they did. Kurenai let out a breath she didn't know she had taken. Chiriku looked back at Asuma and asked, "Who've you got here?" He motioned towards Naruto and the red eyed woman.

"I'll explain on the way to the temple," Asuma said with a sigh.

The swordsman looked at him for a moment and agreed. "Haritsu-san, please take everyone else and finish your guard duty while I escort these three to the temple." The man known as Haritsu nodded and took off with the others. Chiriku turned to the trio and said, "Well, let's get going."

Kurenai and Asuma took to the trees along with Chiriku. On the way, the two Konoha ninja explained the situation with Naruto and why Asuma brought along two other people. The man from the Fire Temple gave a nod.

"I'm sure that'll be fine. By the way, nice to meet you Kurenai-san, Naruto-san," Chiriku finished with a smile. Naruto tried his best to produce a wide grin, but only managed a small one since the man and his group had almost killed them only moments ago. Kurenai nodded in response. "We should probably pick up the pace a bit. The sooner we get there, the more time you'll have to browse around. I'm sure Daiichi-sama will want to meet you as soon as you get there, too."

Asuma nodded. Daiichi was the head monk at the monastery. He knew the man wanted to retire soon because he was getting to be old, but that usually didn't come with the job description. The man would have to find a replacement among the Twelve Guardians to do so, and nobody seemed ready yet. He, on the other hand, was going to replace one of the Guardians that had been planning on leaving for some time now. Asuma sighed. The whole thing was a confusing process. So, rather than burn his brain after almost a full day of running, he made small talk with Chiriku and Kurenai. He caught up with everything that had been going on at the Fire Temple since his last visit, and everything that had been going on in his friend's life among other little things. They continued their talk as they leapt from tree to tree towards the temple.

It was going to be one hell of an adventure. That's for sure.

**xxx**

**A/N:** Well, they're finally going to the temple! I'm hopefully not going to time skip through the whole thing. I _am _going to jump through some months to more important events, but it won't be like '5 years later' or something. Temari will come in while at the Fire Temple, so you won't have to wait forever to see her.

Um... Oh! About the Kankenkaku thing... I'll explain it all in future chapters. It's sort of like their ranking system. 'Kan' means first, and 'kenkaku' means swordsman.

I think that's it...

Thanks for all of the reviews, they're really encouraging! )

So, R&R!

Zashire


	5. Author's Note! Not a Chapter!

**Author's Note:**

This is **not **a chapter. Sorry if I faked any of you out. :( I just wanted to say that until I work out how to do most of the time at the Fire Temple, I probably won't update. I have a few ideas, but they don't work together very well. I've decided that I will have Sora and Kazuma in here from the filler episodes in Naruto Shippuuden to avoid too many OCs, but I still need to work out what I'm going to do with them. I'm not that great with the story behind both of them, so if any of you have a link to a web site or something that explains it, please tell me.

So, if you have any ideas for the story or things you'd like to see done, please send me a PM or review and I'll consider it. :) I'm going on vacation for a week starting August 2nd, so I definitely **will not** update during that time. I may get bored during the twenty some hours I'll be spending in the car and start to plan some more, but there's no guarantee.

Hope this isn't too disappointing to anyone. I'm sorry if it is.

Thanks for reading and see ya later!

Zashire

**07/29/08:**

So I don't fake another update, I'll add this to the Author's Note. Besides, this isn't that important.

I've switched the title from 'The Deserted Leaf Nin' to 'Hiking Off Trail' for several reasons. One, I think it sounds cooler. xP Two, the old title wouldn't really make any sense once I get on with the story. The original plot was going to be Naruto raised in Suna, hence becoming 'The **Desert**ed Leaf Nin.' (He left Leaf to become a ninja, and he would be one of the Desert.) I switched that idea around to the Fire Temple (don't ask me how I got there), and here I am. I used 'Hiking Off Trail' because the name 'A Different Path' and stuff in that category has been used far too much for my liking. That, and I will be doing hours of hiking in a week or so.

The name's meaning is pretty obvious. The trail would be a set course (ie. canon) for Naruto's life, while hiking off it would be more AUish. Kind of like going into uncharted territory. Somewhere where no one has gone before. You get the idea (hopefully).

Well, that's it for now. See ya next time!

Zashire


	6. REWRITE UP! Author's Note 2! Important!

Author's Note! Read this!

Good news everyone! I finally got moving and did something with this story! Thanks to nanowrimo (dot) org and my friend who got me into it, I've done something after months of no updates. It may be disappointing, but I've rewritten this story. I haven't finished the rewrite yet, and am nowhere near close, but I've started. There are a few major changes, and it hardly resembles this one anymore.

Be aware, it might get off track at some points and take considerably longer to get through than this one, but I would like your opinions on how it's going. I have just over 30K words done, but done expect me to update incredibly fast. I'd like to stay ahead by a few chapters for a little bit.

The title of the rewritten version is: Another Way Up the Tree. I'm going to give it a new summary since it's a new story. Here's the URL (take away the 'dot's): fanfiction (dot) net/s/4657507/1/Another_Way_Up_the_Tree

Please let me know what you think of it. I enjoy any and all feedback! See you in the next story!

Zashire


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